EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS (EFA) OF CONTROL BELIEF INSTRUMENT FOR SCHOOL LEADERS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) SCHOOLS

Abstract

Abstract: Most principals have an instinctive awareness that organizational culture is a key element of school success. Because understanding, beliefs, and perceptions of educators impact instructional planning, educational reform, and students’ educational experiences, there is a genuine need to understand those beliefs and perceptions. They might say their school has a good culture when teachers are expressing a shared vision and students are succeeding. Beliefs of teachers, principals, and policy makers regarding the complexity of STEM content and the ability of students can shape the manner in which STEM education is offered in schools. This study aims to examine the power of control and control belief strength instruments. Control refers to the ability to influence what is happening or what will happen. The preliminary validity evidence of Control belief was gained via exploratory factor analysis (EFA). By virtue of the EFA procedure, the study used the principal axis factoring extraction and the varimax rotation. The amount of 151 samples were taken from school leaders in Malaysia. The results showed that EFA has converged two factors. The complexity and multiple perspective of STEM education add challenges to the scholarly activity in determine the category. Therefore, this study provides a platform for further empirical inquiry and causal relationship study in the future.