Development and Validation of a Learning Independence Instrument for Chemistry Education Using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

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Abstract
This study aimed to develop and validate a short-form instrument for assessing students’ learning independence in chemistry education among senior high school students using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). A quantitative survey was conducted involving 131 twelfth-grade science students from two public senior high schools in Sleman Regency, Indonesia, selected through random sampling. Data were collected using a 40-item questionnaire measured on a five-point Likert scale, with the items designed to assess students’ independence in managing, engaging in, and taking responsibility for their chemistry learning, and analyzed using EFA and CFA. The EFA, conducted using JASP version 0.95.4, identified a four-factor structure consisting of self-management, motivation, responsibility, and self-confidence and reduced the initial instrument to 34 items with factor loadings above 0.40. Subsequent CFA further refined the instrument into a parsimonious 14-item version with standardized factor loadings exceeding 0.50, indicating acceptable construct validity. Reliability analysis demonstrated acceptable construct reliability (CR > 0.60, ranging from 0.64 to 0.78). The average variance extracted (AVE) values ranged from 0.41 to 0.49, with self-management, motivation, and responsibility each obtaining an AVE value of 0.41, while self-confidence reached 0.49. Although these AVE values indicated marginal convergent validity, the constructs remained acceptable when evaluated alongside their adequate CR values. The findings suggest that the final 14-item instrument provides acceptable psychometric evidence and offers an empirically supported measure for assessing senior high school students’ learning independence in chemistry education, although further validation in broader chemistry-learning populations and educational settings is recommended

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