Development and Validation of the Autonomy Support Situational Judgment Test for Preschool Teachers

Jianye Fu; Jin Fang

doi:10.29329/pedper.2026.217

Development and Validation of the Autonomy Support Situational Judgment Test for Preschool Teachers

Jianye Fu College of Preschool and Elementary Education, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2282-4361 Author Biography

Fu Jianye (2000-), male, a native of Liaoyang, Liaoning, is a graduate student at the School of Preschool and Primary Education, Shenyang Normal University, with a research focus on preschool education curriculum and teachers. Email: 2196552909@qq.com
Jin Fang College of Preschool and Elementary Education, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5004-9693 Author Biography

Jin Fang (1978-), female, a native of Kaiyuan, Liaoning, is a professor at the School of Preschool and Primary Education, Shenyang Normal University, a supervisor of graduate students, with a research focus on the professional development of kindergarten teachers. Email: jinfang1997@163.com.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.29329/pedper.2026.217

Abstract

Autonomy support is crucial to the development of children’s autonomy and intrinsic motivation. Existing evaluation methods face three-fold contradictions: convenience versus authenticity, objectivity versus generalizability, and depth of interpretation versus dynamic correlation. To address this, this study developed a set of situational judgment tests for preschool teacher autonomy support. Firstly, three dimensions of high control, slight control and high autonomy are established as the measurement structure. Then, the real teaching situations were collected through the event sampling observation method, and seven typical situational events were selected by Delphi method, and 21 behavioral response items were designed. After testing 300 preschool teachers, the results showed that the total Cronbach α coefficient of the test was 0.87. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fitted well, and the content validity was verified by expert review and theoretical framework. The research shows that the tool has good reliability and validity, can scientifically evaluate the level of preschool teacher autonomy support, and provide practical basis for teachers’ training and self-diagnosis.

Keywords

Kindergarten teachers, Autonomy support, Situational Judgment Test, Test development

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How to Cite

Fu, J., & Fang, J. (2026). Development and Validation of the Autonomy Support Situational Judgment Test for Preschool Teachers. Pedagogical Perspective, 5(2), 551-565. https://doi.org/10.29329/pedper.2026.217