Adaptation of the Attitude Behavioural Scale section of a PATT instrument for the Omani context

Abstract

This study is about the adaptation of the Attitude Behavioural Scale (ABS) section of a Pupils’ Attitudes Towards Technology (PATT) instrument for the Omani context. This study is a mixed methods research design and it consists of three phases. Phase 1 of the study is reported in this article. Phase 1 started with the selection of the PATT-USA as a model to adapt, design and validate the Technology Attitude Bilingual Scale-Arabic/English (TABS) (see Annexure 1). Particular individuals we selected to critique the TABS by using a purposive sampling technique because these individuals belonged to a particular group of competent professionals. The panel of experts’ aim was to establish trustworthiness of the instrument. Their evaluation was on the appropriateness of both languages, particularly that the TABS did not contain any cultural and linguistic errors that could offend the Arab culture. This panel consisted of 4 bilingual and Arab culture experts. The ABS was adapted and translated from English to Arabic. The TABS instrument consisted of an open-ended question (qualitative), demographic information, technology attitudes and language choice. The validation process was replicated from similar studies. Results show that 38 items were corrected. 27 items were classified as minor corrections, namely one to two words were corrected. 11 items were classified as major corrections, namely three to six words were corrected. These corrections are described in Annexure 2. The panel of experts’ final judgement reported that the TABS was a reliable instrument to reveal Omani students’ attitudes towards technology.