Towards a student-centered education: Validation of the Italian version of the Conceptions of Learning and Teaching questionnaire

Many medical schools have transitioned from traditional teacher-centred education to active student-centred education. The Conception of Learning and Teaching (COLT) questionnaire investigates teachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching in student-centred medical education. This observational and multicentred study aims to validate the Italian version of the Conceptions of Learning and Teaching (COLT-IT) questionnaire and assess the Italian medical educators’ learning and teaching conceptions. To develop the COLT-IT, a back-translation was performed. The COLT-IT and socio-demographic questionnaires were electronically distributed to educators across 13 Italian medical schools. Analyses included explorative factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability analysis. A total of 394 medical teachers completed the survey. Although the EFA suggested retaining three factors, statistical conditions led to the exclusion of eleven of the original eighteen items and one factor. The CFA confirmed the bi-dimensional structure of the COLT-IT. The two-factor scale retained the original naming of subscales: Teacher centredness (TC) and Appreciation of active learning (AL). Approximately 50% of participants exhibited high levels of AL, while scores in the TC subscale were more varied. No differences emerged based on gender, age, or the geographical location of the medical school. The 7-item COLT-IT is a reliable, valid, robust, and easy-to-administer tool for promoting and monitoring the implementation of a student-centred approach in medical education.