Self-efficacy in Higher Education for Students “over the age of 23”: study of a scale

Objective The present study aims to study the psychometric qualities of the Higher Education Self-efficacy Scale, applied to a particular group of students, generically called “over the age of 23”. Method This scale was administered online to a convenience sample, consisting of 250 Portuguese students. Results Confirmatory Factor Analyses revealed an acceptable fit of the original three-factor model and of a proposed second-order model. The results also revealed internal consistency reliability evidence (assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability and omega coefficients) and measurement invariance across both groups defined by employability as a reason to enroll in higher education. Conclusion High correlations between the three first-order factors and lack of discriminant validity evidence (assessed using Average Variance Extracted) between two of them raised questions about subscore utility, with the further analysis pointing to the lack of sufficient evidence that these should be reported instead of just a single total score.