Academic Self-Concept of Secondary Science Education Students: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Abstract

Academic self-concept (ASC), a construct recognized in education and psychology, is a significant factor influencing academic performance. Although numerous reports have examined college students' academic self-concept globally, little research has been conducted to ascertain the underlying factor structure and constructs of ASC among undergraduate secondary science majors in the Philippines. The primary objectives of this study were to examine the ASC of BSED college students and to ascertain the underlying factor structure of the ASC variables. The survey of 94 BSED Science students revealed an average general ASC. The EFA model revealed a two-factor structure for the observed variables. The SEM indicates a slight negative correlation between Positive ASC and Negative ASC. Students' sense of capability, pride in their college grades, and belief that studying hard pays off are all strongly associated with the Positive ACS. Students' feelings of being behind on classwork and a lack of necessary abilities for specific majors are heavily attributed to the negative ACS. According to the generated values for the model's good fit indices, the ACS SEM model of the study is an acceptable model. Additional research shall be conducted to further our understanding of students' Academic Self-concepts across disciplines and to validate the two-factor structure model developed in this study.