Psychometric network analysis of gendered patterns in experimental self-efficacy among Malaysian pre-university chemistry students

Gender comparisons of experimental self-efficacy (ESE) in chemistry laboratories are typically based on mean scores, which do not reveal how ESE beliefs are organised as an interconnected system. A cross-sectional sample of 655 Malaysian pre-university chemistry students (179 male; 476 female) completed a 12-item ESE measure spanning conceptual understanding, procedural complexity, laboratory hazards, and resource sufficiency. Measurement invariance was examined using multi-group CFA; configural invariance was supported, with borderline evidence for full metric invariance, so gender comparisons are interpreted cautiously as patterns under this operationalisation. Gender-specific networks were estimated using regularised Gaussian graphical models; strength centrality and permutation-based network comparison tests (NCTs) were used to evaluate gender differences, with bootstrap and case-dropping analyses assessing robustness. Both networks were domain-clustered, with strongest within-domain connections and relatively limited cross-domain links. Descriptively, conceptual understanding (item 3), “I am confident that I understand the chemical processes in the experiment,” was the most central node in the female network, whereas laboratory hazards (item 2), “I am confident of working in the laboratory without chemical spillage,” was the most central node in the male network; however, NCT indicated no differences in network structure or global strength, and no individual edges or centralities differed significantly. Overall, ESE showed similar network organisation across gender in this context. The identified clusters and cross-domain links, particularly those involving conceptual sense-making, provide hypotheses for future research on laboratory support rather than direct evidence of instructional effects.