Content Validation of an Outdoor Education Leadership Competency Assessment Instrument Using the Fuzzy Delphi Method

Abstract

Leadership competency is an important requirement for the effective implementation of Outdoor Education programmes, particularly in teacher education settings where trainees are expected to plan, manage, and lead outdoor learning activities. This study aimed to determine the content validity of an Outdoor Education Leadership Competency Assessment Instrument using the Fuzzy Delphi Method. The development of the instrument was guided by the Brick Wall Model, which consists of four competency domains: Foundation Skills, Hard Skills, Soft Skills, and Meta Skills. A total of 36 proposed items were evaluated by ten experts with experience in Outdoor Education, Physical Education, leadership, curriculum development, and co-curricular management. Expert responses were analysed using three Fuzzy Delphi acceptance criteria: threshold value, expert consensus percentage, and defuzzification value. The findings showed that all 36 items met the required criteria for retention. The overall threshold values ranged from 0.027 to 0.156, which were below the accepted value of 0.20. Expert consensus reached 100% across all domains, exceeding the minimum requirement of 75%. The defuzzification values ranged from 0.733 to 0.957, which were above the minimum acceptance value of 0.50. These results indicate that the expert panel agreed on the relevance and suitability of the proposed competency domains and items. The study concludes that the instrument demonstrates satisfactory content validity for assessing Outdoor Education leadership competency among teacher trainees. Further research is recommended to examine the instrument’s reliability, construct validity, and practical applicability in broader educational settings.