Construct validation of the shortened version of the behavior and instructional management scale within the Iranian context

Despite the importance of successful classroom management in education, few studies are available that focus on this issue in Iran. Since the Behavior and Instructional Management Scale (BIMS) was first examined with 24 items, it has been the topic of several validation studies in different contexts. However, these studies have used the earliest version of the scale including 24-items. This is not recommended by the scale developers (Martin & Sass, 2010). In fact, Sass, Lopes, Oliveira, and Martin (2016) suggested that further studies on classroom management should distribute a 14-item BIMS to check which 12-item version yields the strongest reliability and validity evidence for their context. The current study was therefore conducted to examine the factor structure of the BIMS with a sample of 376 Iranian high school teachers from different subject areas. Results indicated that a 10-item factor structure might be the best for Iranian teachers, as it provided the best evidence of factorial validity. Factor analysis results provided the evidence for removing items and, furthermore, psychometric properties are discussed in light of the cultural and contextual background. The findings imply the effect of cultural issues on the BIMS factor structure and call for further cross-cultural research in this regard.