Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers

STEM education has been a topic of interest for many years, among those are the issue of decreasing number of students showing interest in continuing the academic pathway in STEM. It is also a global issue where among who refuse to take up STEM pathways are those who are high performer students. Amo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yaacob, Zaidi, Abdullah, Nabilah, Razali, Fazilah, Syed Aris, Sharipah Ruzaina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Human Resources Management Academic Research Society (HRMARS) 2024
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/1/117161.pdf
_version_ 1848867179572756480
author Yaacob, Zaidi
Abdullah, Nabilah
Razali, Fazilah
Syed Aris, Sharipah Ruzaina
author_facet Yaacob, Zaidi
Abdullah, Nabilah
Razali, Fazilah
Syed Aris, Sharipah Ruzaina
author_sort Yaacob, Zaidi
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description STEM education has been a topic of interest for many years, among those are the issue of decreasing number of students showing interest in continuing the academic pathway in STEM. It is also a global issue where among who refuse to take up STEM pathways are those who are high performer students. Among the factors that lead to this situation is low STEM self-efficacy. This study aims to validate the measurement model for the STEM self-efficacy construct in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers. Generally, the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is needed to uncover the suitable items to be used in research instruments. This study adopted a purposive research sampling with data collected from the Law and TESL fundamentals students enrolled in a public university in Malaysia. Items with a 10-interval scale were used. Using the Principal Component extraction method with Varimax Rotation, the researchers performed the EFA procedure on construct elements using SPSS software. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sampling adequacy were also performed. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the retained items. All the 15 items for STEM self-efficacy are retained. Based on the factor analysis, this study finalized the instrument of 15 STEM self-efficacy items; yielding 3 dimensions, i.e., science self-efficacy (7 items), engineering self-efficacy (5 items), and mathematics self-efficacy (3 items). This study explained in detail the procedures for carrying out the STEM self-efficacy construct. The researcher hopes that this study adds new insight into STEM self-efficacy, particularly among the high STEM achievers.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T14:32:23Z
format Article
id upm-117161
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T14:32:23Z
publishDate 2024
publisher Human Resources Management Academic Research Society (HRMARS)
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-1171612025-04-29T08:07:56Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/ Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers Yaacob, Zaidi Abdullah, Nabilah Razali, Fazilah Syed Aris, Sharipah Ruzaina STEM education has been a topic of interest for many years, among those are the issue of decreasing number of students showing interest in continuing the academic pathway in STEM. It is also a global issue where among who refuse to take up STEM pathways are those who are high performer students. Among the factors that lead to this situation is low STEM self-efficacy. This study aims to validate the measurement model for the STEM self-efficacy construct in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers. Generally, the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is needed to uncover the suitable items to be used in research instruments. This study adopted a purposive research sampling with data collected from the Law and TESL fundamentals students enrolled in a public university in Malaysia. Items with a 10-interval scale were used. Using the Principal Component extraction method with Varimax Rotation, the researchers performed the EFA procedure on construct elements using SPSS software. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sampling adequacy were also performed. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the retained items. All the 15 items for STEM self-efficacy are retained. Based on the factor analysis, this study finalized the instrument of 15 STEM self-efficacy items; yielding 3 dimensions, i.e., science self-efficacy (7 items), engineering self-efficacy (5 items), and mathematics self-efficacy (3 items). This study explained in detail the procedures for carrying out the STEM self-efficacy construct. The researcher hopes that this study adds new insight into STEM self-efficacy, particularly among the high STEM achievers. Human Resources Management Academic Research Society (HRMARS) 2024-05-28 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/1/117161.pdf Yaacob, Zaidi and Abdullah, Nabilah and Razali, Fazilah and Syed Aris, Sharipah Ruzaina (2024) Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14 (6). pp. 302-312. ISSN 2222-6990 https://hrmars.com/index.php/IJARBSS/article/view/21462/Exploratory-Factor-Analysis-of-STEM-Self-Efficacy-in-the-Context-of-Malaysian-STEM-Subjects-High-Performers 10.6007/ijarbss/v14-i6/21462
spellingShingle Yaacob, Zaidi
Abdullah, Nabilah
Razali, Fazilah
Syed Aris, Sharipah Ruzaina
Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers
title Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers
title_full Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers
title_fullStr Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers
title_full_unstemmed Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers
title_short Exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of Malaysian STEM subjects’ high performers
title_sort exploratory factor analysis of stem self-efficacy in the context of malaysian stem subjects’ high performers
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117161/1/117161.pdf