Validation of a common content knowledge test for soccer

Purpose: Teacher knowledge of rules, techniques, and tactics is called common content knowledge. Such knowledge is essential for effective teaching of physical education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a test of soccer common content knowledge. Method: Rasch modeling was used to evaluate the validity and reliability of a test of soccer to a sample of 530 Chinese teacher education students. Results: Twenty-seven of 30 questions demonstrated good item-model fit. Moderately high internal consistency for personability and high internal consistency for item difficulty are reported. There were gaps between personability estimates and item-difficulty levels at the lower and higher ends of the map, indicating a lack of more easy and difficult questions. Conclusion: The analysis provides evidence to support the validity and reliability of this instrument as a test of soccer common content knowledge for Chinese preservice physical education teachers.