Development of Academic Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale (ALSES): Examining its Relationship with Cognitive Flexibility and Critical Thinking

We posited that students in higher education would be able to comprehend the academic texts they encountered and think critically and flexibly. This study aimed to develop a scale to measure the academic literacy self-efficacy of higher education students and to examine the relationships between students’ academic literacy self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, and critical thinking levels. The research included two study groups, one with 327 participants and the other with 414. We used the Academic Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale (ALSES), UF/EMI Critical Thinking Disposition Instrument, and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory as data collection tools. We analyzed the data using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analyses, and structural equation modeling (SEM). The analyses showed that the ALSES was a valid and reliable measurement tool. The SEM results indicated that critical thinking and cognitive flexibility were moderately related. Furthermore, we found a moderate correlation between academic literacy self-efficacy and critical thinking, as well as between academic literacy self-efficacy and cognitive flexibility. The findings show that cognitive flexibility and critical thinking disposition together accounted for 28% of the total variance in academic literacy self-efficacy.