THE DEVELOPMENT OF A THREE SUBSCALE ATTITUDE INSTRUMENT FOR THE VISUAL ARTS
Abstract
The goal of this study was to develop an instrument that would more adequately differentiate among different kinds of attitudes within the domain of the visual arts. To do this, three statistically independent subscales were developed under the global concept of "artworld." These three subscales were labelled V (Visual Arts in General), E (Art as an Educational Discipline), and P (People in the Arts). The pilot form of the instrument thus developed, the Fergus Art Subscale Attitude Instrument (FASAI), consisted of 138 items. It was administered to 251 students enrolled in nine art courses at Purdue University in the 1981 Spring semester. The population was divided into five groups: fine art majors, design majors, art education majors, elementary education majors, and other non-art majors. Content validity of the FASAI was addressed during the construction of the instrument. Over 650 statements were collected to assure an adequate sample of items. These items were then sorted into the appropriate subscale area. An item analysis was run on each of the items and this was correlated both with the subscale score and the total score. The final form of the FASAI consists of the 78 most discriminating items, with 26 items in each of the subscales. This number allows the subscales to be used either independently, or as a total collection of items under the concept of the "artworld." The FASAI was checked for reliability using the SPSS program. Item-total correlations and yielded an alpha of.93 for Subscale V,.93 for Subscale E,.88 for Subscale P, and an overall reliability of.97 for the FASAI. Construct validity was addressed through item analysis and analyses of the five known groups. Results indicated a different pattern of statistically separated groups for each subscale. On subscale V, the only two groups that were statistically different were the highest scoring art education majors, and the lowest scoring elementary education majors. On subscale E, fine art, design, and art education majors all scored significantly higher than elementary education and other non-art majors. On subscale P, art education majors scored significantly higher than design, elementary education, and other non-art majors. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Art education
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