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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Factor Influencing Students’ Scientific Literacy: An Exploratory Factor Analysis

Mohd Radzi Abu Bakar, Lilia Halim, Nurazidawati Mohamad Arsad

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i12/20393

Open access

Knowing what influences students' ability to understand and apply science in their daily lives will help with intervention planning and better understanding of the factors that influence students' scientific literacy. Thus, this study aimed to develop an instrument to identify factors contributing to students’ scientific literacy. Four phases were employed to develop the instrument: conduct content validity, administer a pre-test, conduct construct validity using exploratory factor analysis, and determine construct reliability. A 131-item questionnaire was administered to 350 form four students aged 16 years old in daily government schools. Three constructs were subjected to exploratory factor analysis: the constructivist learning environment (CLE), attitude toward science (ATS), motivation, and self-efficacy (MSE). The five subconstructs of CLE are personal relevance, uncertainty, critical voice, shared control, and student negotiation. ATS comprises of seven subconstructs: social implications of science, normality of scientists, attitude to scientific inquiry, adoption of scientific attitudes, enjoyment of science lessons, leisure interest in science, and career interest in science. Finally, MSE consists of three subconstructs: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. The instrument is expected to be useful in research and evaluation to measure factors influencing students' scientific literacy.