Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
The design thinking approach, which activates students’ motivation to explore a constructive learning environment and provides an opportunity for them to become individuals open to new ideas, is an approach that supports the production of innovative solutions with a creative perspective to complex and uncertain problems where people are at the center, and user needs are at the forefront. Implementing the design thinking approach in education has revealed the need to determine and understand students’ mindset levels regarding this way of thinking. Accordingly, this study aims to develop and validate the Design Thinking Mindset Scale (DTMS) to evaluate what, how, and to what extent the design thinking mindset levels of secondary school students between the ages of 14–18 are developed. In order to test the validity and reliability of the scale, data were collected from a sample group of 896 secondary school students. Item test analyses and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) results were interpreted together, and a structure consisting of 10 factors (subscales) explaining 47.56% of the total variance was obtained. Then, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, and χ2/sd, RMSEA, SRMR, CFI, NNFI, and GFI were calculated from the fit indices for the model proposed as a result of the analysis. It was determined that the model established with the values obtained showed a good fit, and the model was confirmed. As a result of the reliability analysis conducted for the DTMS, the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.887, indicating good reliability for the scale. Therefore, DTMS can be used to determine secondary school students’ design thinking mindset levels and monitor their development level. Thanks to this assessment tool, design thinking mindset development can be monitored before and after pedagogical interventions, and educational content can be developed by considering mindset levels.