The main focus of the study is to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of students’ readiness skills toward work immersion in Technical Vocational Livelihood-Industrial Arts of the Department of Education. Work immersion is a required subject that is assimilated into the curriculum of the Senior High School. This program will engage students with a real-time work environment that will develop their competencies. This study verified the construct validity and reliability of the Work Readiness Assessment Scale (WRAS). A total of 237 Grade 12 Industrial Arts work immersion students from different Senior High Schools in the Division of Pampanga completed the WRAS. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to measure the work readiness towards the DepEd work immersion program indicated that a four-factor structure of the WRAS provided a good fit to the data. The fit indices generated the following value, GFI=0.643, χ2 /df=2.27, RMSEA=0.073, CFI=0.849, TLI=0.843, and NFI=0.759 that indicates an excellent fit to data observed.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Purpose of the Research
1.2. Hypotheses
2. Literature Review
3. Methodology
3.1. Summary of Research Process
3.2. Participants of the Study
3.3. Instruments
3.4. Data Analysis
3.5. Data Gathering Procedure
4. Results and Discussion
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
The primary objective of this study is to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to validate the constructs of the Work Readiness Assessment Scale (WRAS) among Grade 12 students in the Industrial Arts track, specifically evaluating their readiness for the Department of Education's work immersion program.
- Validation of the four-factor structure (personal attitude, technical skills, social skills, organizational awareness) of the WRAS.
- Assessment of the readiness level of Industrial Arts students for work immersion.
- Examination of the statistical relationships and correlations between the four identified readiness constructs.
- Verification of instrument reliability using Cronbach Alpha, Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Composite Reliability.
- Determination of model goodness-of-fit using structural equation modeling indices (CFA).
Excerpt from the Book
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Deikhoff (1992) defined factor analysis as group of affiliated techniques where highly correlated variables that are grouped homogenously are examined. The word factors pertain to the groups of variables. Accordingly, underlying factors are determined and measured through the p set of original variables. Moreover, factor analysis is imperative in assessing significance tests of factor stability structure which is secured from a single sample or between the similarity of factor structure acquired from samples of two.
On the family of techniques in factor analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) belongs to this group. In fact, Jackson, Gillaspy, and Purc-Stephenson (2009) described CFA as a very important tool for researchers who seek for the validity of constructs such as development of scale, validation of constructs, or validation of model of measurement in applications of SEM. Additionally, they emphasized that definite hypothesis and highly complex ones can be specified and tested by researchers once these hypotheses that are under study is transformed into a model. Similarly, Brown and Moore (2013) stressed that confirmatory factor analysis deals with models of measurement between relationships of observed measures (test scores, test items, and ratings of behavioral observation) and the factors (latent variables). In this study, the four factors in Work Readiness Assessment Scale will be measure its relationship, reliability and validity.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter provides the background of the K-12 program, defines the work immersion requirement, and outlines the research purpose and hypotheses regarding student readiness.
2. Literature Review: This section reviews existing theories on work readiness and provides context regarding the implementation of the work immersion program within the Philippine education system.
3. Methodology: This chapter describes the quantitative research design, the selection of 237 student participants, the instruments used, and the two-step data analysis procedure involving descriptive statistics and CFA.
4. Results and Discussion: This section presents the empirical findings, including descriptive statistics of the items, path diagrams of the measurement model, fit indices, and correlation analysis between constructs.
5. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes that the students are proficient and that the WRAS is a valid and reliable instrument with a significant four-factor structure.
Keywords
Confirmatory factor analysis, Technical Vocational Livelihood, work immersion, Work Readiness Assessment Scale, construct validity, reliability, industrial arts, student readiness, SEM, latent variables, educational assessment, goodness-of-fit, personal attitude, technical skills, social skills.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on validating the Work Readiness Assessment Scale (WRAS) to ensure it accurately measures student preparedness for work immersion programs within the Technical Vocational Livelihood (TVL) track.
What are the central themes discussed in this study?
The central themes include K-12 educational curriculum implementation, student work readiness, construct validation of psychometric scales, and structural equation modeling.
What is the primary goal of the study?
The goal is to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify if the four-factor structure of the WRAS is valid and reliable for assessing Grade 12 Industrial Arts students.
Which scientific methodology is utilized in this paper?
The study employs a quantitative approach, specifically utilizing Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) via AMOS software to test the model's goodness-of-fit and reliability.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body details the literature background, the research process, the sample characteristics, the statistical analysis of the scale's items, and the evaluation of model fit indices.
Which keywords characterize this work best?
Key terms include Confirmatory factor analysis, Work immersion, Work Readiness Assessment Scale, and Technical Vocational Livelihood.
How were the four factors of the WRAS identified?
The factors were identified as personal attitude, technical skills, social skills, and organizational awareness, and their validity was tested using CFA techniques.
What was the conclusion regarding student proficiency?
The results of the descriptive statistics revealed that the Grade 12 Industrial Arts students were generally "proficient" and ready for the work immersion program.
What evidence supports the reliability of the scale?
Reliability is supported by high Cronbach Alpha values, Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values above 0.5, and Composite Reliability values above 0.7 for all four factors.
What do the correlation results between factors imply?
The positive and significant correlations found in the study imply that the identified constructs are deeply interrelated, suggesting that readiness in one area (e.g., technical skills) is associated with readiness in others (e.g., social skills).
- Quote paper
- Nepthalie Gonzales (Author), 2020, Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Parameters of Students’ Work Readiness Assessment Scale Towards Technical Vocational Livelihood Work Immersion Program, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/541494
