Validation of the STEM career interest measurement model among secondary school students using confirmatory factor analysis
Full Text (PDF)
Rashidin Idris 1 2 , Juppri Bacotang 3 * , Fariha Diyana Awang Ali 4 , Hamdan Mohd Salleh 2 , Murni Sianturi 5
More Detail
1 Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjong Malim, Perak, MALAYSIA2 Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Universiti Selangor, MALAYSIA3 Faculty of Education and Sport Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, MALAYSIA4 Faculty of Education, Open University Malaysia, MALAYSIA5 Excelsia University College, AUSTRALIA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study aimed to validate the measurement model of STEM Career Interest among secondary school students using first-order and second-order Confirmatory Factor Analysis. A quantitative survey design was employed involving 384 Form One students from secondary schools in Perak, Malaysia. The STEM Career Interest construct was measured using 44 items representing four dimensions with Science Career Interest, Technology Career Interest, Engineering Career Interest and Mathematics Career Interest. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS and IBM SPSS AMOS version 30. The first-order CFA results showed that all items achieved satisfactory standardised factor loadings, ranging from 0.783 to 0.869 for Science, 0.764 to 0.847 for Technology, 0.804 to 0.887 for Engineering and 0.829 to 0.889 for Mathematics. Reliability and convergent validity were also supported, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.954 to 0.971, Composite Reliability values ranging from 0.954 to 0.971 and Average Variance Extracted values ranging from 0.654 to 0.753. The modified CFA models demonstrated acceptable model fit for Science, Technology and Engineering, while the Mathematics model showed acceptable comparative and incremental fit despite marginal RMSEA. The second-order CFA further supported STEM Career Interest as a higher-order construct, with acceptable fit indices, ChiSq/df = 2.240, RMSEA = 0.057, CFI = 0.939, IFI = 0.939 and TLI = 0.936. Overall, the findings provide empirical evidence that the STEM Career Interest measurement model is valid and reliable for assessing domain-specific STEM career interest among Malaysian secondary school students.

Keywords

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

PEDAGOGICAL RES, Volume 11, Issue 4, October 2026, Article No: em0290

https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19251

Publication date: 01 Oct 2026

Online publication date: 14 Sep 2026

Article Views: 10

Article Downloads: 5

Open Access References How to cite this article