Online Learning Self-Efficacy Scale: Measurement Invariance Across Various Demographic Characteristics

Abstract

The increased awareness of the importance of self-efficacy in online learning has led to a development of several scales. Of those, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Online Learning (SeQoL) has served as a key instrument for researchers who examined students in online learning environments (Tsai et al., 2020). However, its utility with a diverse population has not been tested in the literature. Specifically, measurement invariance of the SeQoL has never been investigated. Ensuring measurement invariance of the SeQoL helps determine the adequacy of the measurement to diverse populations. This study explored measurement invariance of the SeQoL with people from diverse backgrounds including age, sex, and race. Study results supported strong measurement invariance for all the studied variables. These results collectively suggest validity evidence of the SeQoL and demonstrate that the target construct being assessed by the SeQoL holds the same meaning across multiple groups.