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Item response theory analysis of general self-efficacy scale for senior elementary school students in China

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Abstract

Self-efficacy plays a crucial role in an individual’s success. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the general self-efficacy scale (GSES-C) for senior elementary school students using item response theory. A total of 568 students—271 boys and 297 girls aged 10 to 14 years (M = 11.81, SD = .69)—were recruited from three elementary schools in East China. Exploratory factor analysis was used to detect dimensionality. A grade response model (GRM) was used to analyze item parameters, differential item functioning (DIF) regarding gender and grade variables, and item information. The results confirmed the unidimensionality and local independence of the scale. The test for model–data fit indicated that the GRM fit the data and that all items fit the model after adjusting for significance level. Furthermore, the test of DIF detected no significant DIF regarding gender or grade variables. Additionally, most items provided acceptable information, with the exceptions of items 2 and 3, which provided little item information for the survey across the entire scale. This study demonstrated that the GSES-C has acceptable psychometric properties and constitutes an excellent method for measuring general self-efficacy from very low to high levels; therefore, it can be used to measure the general self-efficacy of most senior elementary school students after the modification of some items.

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Funding

This study was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31371047), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY15C090003), and Humanities and Social Sciences planning project of Chinese Ministry of Education (16YJA190002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, China

    Xiaojian Sun & Tao Xin

  2. Ruixiang Experimental School, Rui’an, Zhejiang, China

    Fanglai Zhong

  3. College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China

    Chunhua Kang

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  1. Xiaojian Sun
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  2. Fanglai Zhong
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  3. Tao Xin
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  4. Chunhua Kang
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Correspondence to Tao Xin.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants and their parents included in the study.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 The detail information about each item for GSES-C, Chinese wording in italics
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Sun, X., Zhong, F., Xin, T. et al. Item response theory analysis of general self-efficacy scale for senior elementary school students in China. Curr Psychol 40, 601–610 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9982-8

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