Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance of Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Self-Concept in Swedish PISA 2003 and 2012

• A large amount of research has shown that individuals’ beliefs in their ability have a major impact on their actions in different situations (Bandura, 1986; Marsh et al., 2018; Usher & Pajares, 2006). According to Bandura (1986), students’ self-related beliefs plays a vital role in their academic achievements. Self-belief of competence is a broad conception which involves several facets and constructs, among which, self-efficacy and self-concept have been given considerable attention (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003; Lee, 2009; Marsh, 1987; Shavelson et al., 1976). According to Bong and Skaalvik (2003), both self-efficacy and self-concept can contribute to the prediction of academic performance. Students with different self-beliefs demonstrate different level of cognitive engagement as well as well-being in school (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003). Self-efficacy refers to one’s thoughts and belief in the self’s capability, which is built through previous experiences. According to Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, self-efficacy captures the one’s belief in his or her competence on a specific task or process. Mathematics self-efficacy (MSE) in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a measure of student’s expectation and conviction of what can be accomplished when they need to solve pure and applied mathematics tasks. The students are asked to report on their perceived ability by responses whether they feel confident, confident, not very confident or not at all confident towards "using a train timetable", "calculating TV discount", "calculating square metres of tiles" etc (OECD, 2012). Self-concept is generally defined as one’s perception of his- or herself, which is established through experiences as well as interpretations of social atmosphere and with reference with their peers (Rosenberg, 1979; Marsh, 1987; Parker et al., 2014). It refers to general perception of the competence to a subject matter but not linked to specific tasks in that subject. Mathematics self-concept (MSC) in PISA is constructed index based on students’ responses about their perceived competence in mathematics, whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the statements towards "get good grades", "learn quickly", "not good at math", etc (OECD, 2012). The aim of the study is two-fold. First, to evaluate construct validity of mathematics self-efficacy and self-concept as measured in PISA through exploring the measurement property of these constructs. Second, to examine measurement invariance of mathematics self-efficacy and self-concept scales over time. Data on Swedish students participating in PISA 2003 and PISA 2012 was used, which consists of 4624 and 4736 students respectively.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Self-efficacy; self-concept; construct validity; measurement invariance; CFA; PISA; Mathematics

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