Validation and measurement invariance of the computer attitude measure for young students (CAMYS)

Students' attitudes toward technology, especially computers, play a key role in the effective integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Although numerous attitude scales have been developed to measure attitude toward computers, we found only a few instruments designed for young students aged 11-13 years. Among these attitude scales, the Computer Attitude Measure for Young Students (CAMYS) scale was developed specifically for use on young students. In this study, we examine whether CAMYS is still a valid and relevant instrument given the exponential changes in computer systems. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and measurement invariance analyses across gender on sub-samples for cross validation were performed. Positive computer attitudes among the students were observed. The CFA results confirmed the existence of three separate factors: perceived ease of use (PEU), affect toward computer (ATC), and perceived usefulness (PU). The revised model was found to have a good fit and to show invariance across gender. We concluded that future research could use the revised scale for measuring computer attitudes of young students with confidence.