Higher education institutions are increasingly pressured to adopt inclusive, digitally-supported, dialogic, and sustainable pedagogies (OECD, 2023; European Agency, 2022). Responding to this imperative, Istanbul Medeniyet University (IMU) launched the IDEAL (Interactive, Inclusive, and Digitally Enhanced Academic Learning) Pathways pedagogical strategy. Aiming to transform teaching and learning practices across the institution, this innovative strategy integrates seven core principles into faculty development and curriculum: dialogic interaction, inclusive teaching, digitally enhanced learning, integrated assessment, transactive skill development, cultural awareness and diversity, and instructional sustainability.

To support the implementation and evaluation of the IDEAL Pathways pedagogical strategy, we developed and validated a course-level evaluation scale. An initial 32-item version underwent exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a second sample. This process resulted in a final 28-item instrument: the IDEAL Course Evaluation Scale (IDEAL-CES). The scale includes four dimensions reflecting the IDEAL framework: Dialogic and Inclusive Teaching (DIT), Culturally-Aware and Sustainable Learning (CAS), Digitally Enhanced Learning Environment (DEL), and Integrated and Transparent Assessment (ITA). A second-order CFA supported a unified structure, with all four dimensions loading onto a single higher-order factor. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .988).

Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses captured students’ perceptions of the pathway’s influence on key areas such as inclusion, critical thinking, digital literacy, cultural sensitivity, and sustainability awareness. Student pathway scores were also correlated with academic achievement and satisfaction metrics.

Our preliminary findings are highly promising:
1. The 28-item instrument demonstrates strong internal consistency and construct validity.
2. Higher pathway scores correlate with elevated student engagement, inclusivity perception, transformative learning, and cultural awareness.
3. Digitally enhanced courses show greater equity in learning outcomes, aligning with OECD (2023) and European Agency (2022) findings.
4. Dialogic pedagogy received frequent praise in qualitative responses, reinforcing its role in fostering co-constructive, critical learning (Alexander, 2016; Wegerif, 2013).

This study significantly contributes to the field by providing a psychometrically validated scale and presenting a concrete institutional example of integrated pedagogic innovation. The resulting instrument, IDEAL-CES is a multidimensional tool to assess teaching quality, learning environment, and assessment processes in higher education, aligned with the IDEAL pedagogical framework. Furthermore, this research offers other higher education institutions a replicable model for large-scale pedagogical transformation.

Keywords: Psychometric Scale Validation, IDEAL Pathways, Higher Education, Course Evaluation.