Development of an instrument to measure student disruptive behavior

The study was designed to develop an instrument to examine students' reports of the type and frequency of various student behaviors in physical education classes that might disrupt classroom management. This study had multiple phases, including instrument development, preliminary studies, content-related evidence study, and an exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability study. Participants for the content-related evidence study were 27 experts in physical education pedagogy. They were sent items from the student disruptive behavior instrument and asked to organize them into 3 management severity categories. Participants for the factor analysis and internal consistency reliability study were 2,309 middle and high school students from 2 states. The following 6 factors emerged from the exploratory factor analysis: (a) aggressive, (b) low engagement or irresponsibility, (c) fails to follow directions, (d) illegal or harmful, (e) distracts or disturbs others, and (f) poor self-management. Alpha reliability coefficients for the factors were mostly above .70 and the rotated factor loadings for the items ranged from .26 to .73. Investigating students' reports of the type and frequency of potentially troublesome behaviors may lead to a better understanding of student disruptive behaviors in physical education contexts.