<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Joyce Delali Mawutor</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kenneth Adu-Gyamfi</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH FEMALE STUDENTS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF ATOMIC ORBITALS AND HYBRIDISATION</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Baltic Science Education</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">All-female schools</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">factor analysis</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">female chemistry students</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">motivation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">SDG5</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2026</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">February/2026</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://journals.indexcopernicus.com/search/article?articleId=4765177</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">25</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Research suggests that students, especially female chemistry students, often struggle with understanding atomic orbitals and hybridisation, sometimes holding misconceptions about these concepts. To add to what is known, we examined factors associated with female chemistry students' conceptual understanding of atomic orbitals and hybridisation. We collected data from 304 female chemistry students in upper-secondary school using a methodological triangulation mixed-methods approach that included questionnaires and interviews. Of these, 50 students participated directly in interviews. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three main factors associated with their conceptual understanding. Thematic analysis and narrative approaches were used to further interpret and support the quantitative findings. Since motivational beliefs emerged as one of the key factors, it is important for governments and organisations working towards Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5) – gender equality – to provide targeted support for female chemistry students. Such assistance should aim to foster their interest and engagement with fundamental chemistry concepts like atomic orbitals and hybridisation.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">151-172</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Wenxiu Tang</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Xintong Zhu</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Yangyi Qian</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">APPLYING FACTOR ANALYSIS FOR ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURE OF STUDENTS IN GRADE 10: THE SUBJECT OF REDOX REACTION</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Baltic Science Education</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">chemistry education</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">factor analysis</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">knowledge structure</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">redox reaction</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2022</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">August/2022</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://oaji.net/articles/2022/987-1662187210.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">21</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Redox reaction is an important concept in chemistry, and a well-organized knowledge structure of redox reaction is beneficial for concept learning. This study investigated the knowledge structure regarding redox reaction from 459 Grade 10 students. The pool of 15 redox reaction concepts was developed by content analysis, questionnaire survey, and interview. Six initial competing models with 15 concepts were identified via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and paper-pencil test. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test and modify the six competing models according to the rating data of the students. As a result, six modified models fit the data well. However, the high inter-factor correlations indicate that the two- and three-factor models are the students' knowledge structures of redox reaction. The two-factor model is comprised of two distinct but correlated factors: the process of redox reaction and metrology. The three-factor model is comprised of three factors: the process of redox reaction, reaction ability, and metrology. The finding inflects the abstract relationships between the concepts related to redox reaction in students' minds. </style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">4</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">680-693</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mengmeng Li</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Le Cai</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Dimei Chen</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Jianqiang Ye</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">MEASURING CHINESE RURAL SCIENCE TEACHERS’ SELF-PERCEPTION TOWARDS TEACHING COMPETENCIES: INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT </style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Baltic Science Education</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">factor analysis</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">rural teacher</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">science teacher</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">teaching competency</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2022</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">December/2022</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://oaji.net/articles/2022/987-1671187941.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">21</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The teaching competency of rural teachers is fundamental to providing rural pupils with a high-quality education. Nonetheless, China has not yet established standardized competence criteria for rural science teachers, making it difficult to ascertain the actual competence of the rural teaching force on the front lines. Consequently, this study aimed at accessing Chinese rural science teachers’ teaching competency and exploring rural-urban differences by developing a measurement instrument. Factor analyses confirmed the reliability and validity of this instrument, which consisted of 21 items and four dimensions. In addition, the questionnaire was employed to examine 393 science teachers in China, discovering the significant rural-urban differences in terms of teaching implementation and learning evaluation together with teacher distribution. This study was hoped to promote the building of the teaching competency system and provide references for rural science teachers’ professional development.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">6</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1026-1039</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Yuhua Mai</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Yangyi Qian</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Linshen Li</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Haihang Lan</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">THE CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE OF CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM IN UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: EVIDENCE FROM FACTOR ANALYSIS</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Baltic Science Education</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">chemical equilibrium</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">chemistry education</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">conceptual structure</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">factor analysis</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2021</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">February/2021</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://oaji.net/articles/2021/987-1611648800.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">20</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">This research aimed to explore the conceptual structure of chemical equilibrium in upper-secondary school students using factor analysis. Research on chemistry education has shown that chemical equilibrium is an important but difficult-to-understand topic. Exploring the conceptual structure of chemical equilibrium among students will help chemistry researchers and educators to conduct more targeted teaching practices. Based on a survey of chemistry research and teaching practice experts, a high-quality concept pool composed of 24 relevant concepts was developed. Next, a survey involving a total of over 700 twelfth-grade students from five upper-secondary schools was conducted, and a factor analysis was utilized to determine the conceptual structure. The results showed that a three-factor model and a five-factor model with 15 relevant concepts were all accepted as the conceptual structure for students. The new form of conceptual structure in this research helps understand the features and categories in students’ latent organization of concepts. Also, it may be revealed that factor analysis can be utilized as an approach to exploring students’ conceptual structure.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">80-92</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sümeyye Aydın Gürler</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Oktay Baykara</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">DEVELOPMENT OF AN ATTITUDE SCALE FOR PHYSICS COURSES AND A REVIEW OF STUDENT ATTITUDES</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Baltic Science Education</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">factor analysis</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">physics course</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">scale development</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">student attitude</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2020</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">February/2020</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://oaji.net/articles/2020/987-1581269338.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">19</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The aim of present research was to develop a Likert type scale that determines the attitudes of 9th grade students towards physics courses so as to identify the physics students’ attitudes towards this course. The research started with a draft scale of 30 items. The draft scale was applied to 177 ninth grade students as a pilot research. According to results obtained from factor analysis, a scale that has 21 items and covering six sub-sets was developed. KMO value of the scale was .82; the Bartlett’s test value was 1997.3; and the internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) was .90. The scale was then applied to 460 ninth grade students from different schools to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis. It was found that the types of upper-secondary school influence students’ attitudes towards physics courses while gender and educational level of the parents had no significant influence on these attitudes. Therefore, it was also found that the students had an ambivalent attitude towards physics courses. </style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">6-24</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Namudar İzzet Kurbanoğlu</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF AN INSTRUMENT MEASURING ANXIETY TOWARD BIOLOGY LABORATORY CLASSES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Baltic Science Education</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">biology laboratory</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">factor analysis</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">university students</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">December/2014</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://oaji.net/articles/2017/987-1519497189.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">13</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">University students’ achievements in biology laboratory do not depend only on cognitive variables, but also on non-cognitive variables such as anxiety levels. The aim of this study was to develop a measurement tool assessing the anxiety levels of university students in a biology laboratory class. In this study, the Biology Laboratory Anxiety Scale (B-LAS) consisting of 15 items was developed, and analysed its validity and reliability. All items are positively worded to indicate increased anxiety. The sample consisted of 685 science teacher candidates (450 female and 235 male) who take Biology and/or Biology laboratory classes at three different Faculties of Education. The validity of the scale was first assessed by expert review. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to assess structural validity, and revealed a one-dimensional structure. The loading values of all 15 items varied between 0.61 and 0.80, and explained 53% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency was calculated as 0.93 and the split-half test correlation was 0.85. According to these results B-LAS can be used as a valid and reliable instrument in science education.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">6</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">802–808 </style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pey-Yan Liou</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">EVALUATING MEASUREMENT PROPERTIES OF ATTITUDINAL ITEMS RELATED TO LEARNING SCIENCE IN TAIWAN FROM TIMSS 2007</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Baltic Science Education</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">attitudinal items</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">education research community</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">factor analysis</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">December/2014</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://oaji.net/articles/2015/987-1450982674.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">13</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">In the recent empirical studies utilizing existing items and derived variables of international large-scale assessment (ILSA) data, the three major methodological deficiencies, including the use of a single item to define a construct, the statistical properties of ordinal data, and the fitness of the measurement structure for different scenarios, are examined. To overcome these issues, this study proposes an integrated approach to evaluating items and constructing derived variables in a given situation. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and the item response model are utilized to evaluate student attitudinal items and derived variables from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 Taiwanese data. The results suggest that the three-factor model composed of 12 items is optimal for the data, not the default factor structure in the database. The implications of evaluating items and creating derived variables from ILSA data for the education research community are also discussed.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">6</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">856–869 </style></section></record></records></xml>