Design and validation of a self-perception instrument on the use of scientific knowledge in teaching practice

In the educational context, the transmission of scientific evidence to the classroom is essential to improve the quality of education and to develop effective research-based practices. However, in the interplay between teachers, researchers, political and educational institutions, there are a number of barriers that hinder this transmission. According to several studies, these difficulties arise from the lack of teacher training, work overload, the difficulty of accessing scientific articles, the existence of unethical behaviour and the instability of the Spanish educational system.Approaching the teaching reality with the will to strengthen this link will allow making proposals that will have a significant impact on their teaching practices. Thus, the objective of this work is to design and validate a questionnaire that measures self-perception on the use of scientific knowledge in teaching practice. This tool, intended for future teachers and active teachers, will allow the collection of perceptions on barriers and facilitators for the implementation of scientific evidence in the classroom. Based on a quantitative research approach, the content of the questionnaire was validated by means of an expert judgment. Then, a pilot test was carried out with the participation of 278 future teachers of the Master's Degree in Teacher Training of 4 Catalan universities. Finally, an analysis of reliability and construct validity was carried out by means of an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).The result has been the validation of a tool that will allow a more detailed understanding of the phenomenon of barriers between educational scientific evidence and teachers. This will facilitate the detection of strengthening pathways between educational research and classroom practices, promoting a more effective implementation of scientific evidence that will result in a continuous, more effective and more efficient improvement of education.