| Purpose. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument that would measure the perceived efficacy beliefs of administrators regarding the implementation of a character education program. Because of the sundry character-related challenges that school administrators must constantly face, the Administrator Character Education Efficacy Belief Instrument (ACEEBI) was developed and validated in order to aid principals in the self-evaluation and determination of their perceived efficacy beliefs to implement a character education program. With such knowledge, administrators could better prepare and equip themselves, their staff, and all school constituents for the task of educating students in the character education domain. The construct for administrators' character education efficacy that was developed included seven components as reflected on the Administrator Character Education Efficacy Model. The model was then utilized to develop the ACEEBI survey which was administered to a sample of principals across America. Respondent data were subsequently analyzed to validate the instrument for future educational purposes.;Method. Principals from across the nation were surveyed via formsite.com in order to rate the strength and level of their perceived efficacy beliefs for implementing character education programs. The instrument contained 70 descriptors, ten for each of the seven constructs. Data were subjected to correlational analysis and factor analysis in order to identify the relationships within and between each of the seven constructs (program administration, administrator leadership, staff relations, parent involvement, student improvement, school climate, and program methodologies), and to validate the instrument. The correlational analyses indicated strong relationships between the factors within each component of administrator character education efficacy. Factor analysis revealed that the majority of the items on the ACEEBI loaded onto three different factors.;Results. Analysis of the data determined that the instrument was a valid measure of the constructs for implementing character education programs as reflected in the current literature and knowledge base, the character efficacy model, and the ACEEBI. The factor analysis revealed that principals do not actually differentiate between the seven constructs studied, because the responses generally loaded onto three different factors. Future research could focus on using the ACEEBI as an assessment tool in the training, hiring and development of future administrators desirous of implementing character education. |
