Designing and Validating an Evaluation Inventory of the Effect of Hidden Curriculum on Teacher Identity

Hidden curriculum might have a substantial effect on teachers’ identity although the two variables might have been under-researched, and there appears to have been no instrument to uncover the issue more specifically. The present study aimed to develop and validate a potential inventory to examine the effect of the Hidden Curriculum on Teacher Identity (HCTI). To do so, 350 Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers volunteered to be interviewed in semi-structured interviews to elicit the hidden factors that potentially affect teacher professional identity construction. The final inventory was a questionnaire with 51 items which was subject to reliability and construct validity issues. Reliability and factor analysis results indicated that the questionnaire enjoyed high psychometric properties. Besides, factor analysis indicated 44 items loaded on three components of 1) Hidden Curriculum and Self-Efficacy Dimension of EFL Teacher Identity, 2) Hidden Curriculum and Pedagogical Dimension of EFL Teacher Identity, and 3) Hidden Curriculum and Social Dimension of EFL Teacher Identity. Findings contributed to the effective roles that hidden curriculum could play in shaping and developing teachers’ identity.