Frank Pajares

Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings

The purpose of this article is to examine the contribution made by the self-efficacy component of Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory to the study of self-regulation and motivation in academic settings. The difference between self-efficacy beliefs and other expectancy constructs is first explained, followed by a brief overview of problems in self-efficacy research. Findings on the relationship between self-efficacy, motivation constructs, and academic performances are then summarized. These findings demonstrate that particularized measures of self-efficacy that correspond to the criterial tasks with which they are compared surpass global measures in the explanation and prediction of related outcomes. The conceptual difference between the definition and use of expectancy beliefs in social cognitive theory and in expectancy value and self-concept theory is then clarified. Last, strategies to guide future research are offered.

The Development of Academic Self-Efficacy

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the development of academic self-efficacy. This chapter focuses on the development of one type of motivational process: perceived self-efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to beliefs about ones capabilities to learn or perform behaviors at designated levels. It provides theoretical background information on self-efficacy to show its relation to other similar motivation constructs. According to this chapter, self-efficacy has been shown to play an important role in achievement contexts, and much research supports the idea that it can influence the instigation, direction, persistence, and outcomes of achievement-related actions. In this chapter it traced the purpose of self-efficacy changes with development and has elucidated variables that affect this change. It also suggests profitable areas of future research. This chapter encourages by the rapid increase in self-efficacy research. This chapter concludes that the future should provide greater clarification of the operation of self-efficacy in different domains and highlight ways that self-efficacy can be enhanced in learners across developmental levels.

Sources of Self-Efficacy in School: Critical Review of the Literature and Future Directions

The purpose of this review was threefold. First, the theorized sources of self-efficacy beliefs proposed by A. Bandura (1986) are described and explained, including how they are typically assessed and analyzed. Second, findings from investigations of these sources in academic contexts are reviewed and critiqued, and problems and oversights in current research and in conceptualizations of the sources are identified. Although mastery experience is typically the most influential source of self-efficacy, the strength and influence of the sources differ as a function of contextual factors such as gender, ethnicity, academic ability, and academic domain. Finally, suggestions are offered to help guide researchers investigating the psychological mechanisms at work in the formation of self-efficacy beliefs in academic contexts.

Against the Odds: Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Women in Mathematical, Scientific, and Technological Careers:

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal stories of women who selected and continue to excel at careers in areas of mathematics, science, and technology to better understand the ways in which their self-efficacy beliefs influenced their academic and career choices. Analysis of 15 narratives revealed that verbal persuasions and vicarious experiences were critical sources of the womens self-efficacy beliefs. These findings suggest that the perceived importance of these sources of self-efficacy believes may be stronger for women in male-oriented domains than for individuals operating in traditional settings. Academic and relational self efficacy perceptions resulted in the perseverance and resiliency required to overcome academic and career obstacles. Findings support and refine the theoretical tenets of A. Banduras (1986) social cognitive theory, and they also suggest that critical tenets in this theory are consistent with the work of C. Gilligan (1982) and N. Noddings (1992).

Influence of Self-Efficacy on Elementary Students' Writing

Path analysis was used to test the influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, perceived usefulness of writing, and writing aptitude on the essay-writing performance of 218 fifth-grade students. A model that also included sex accounted for 64% of the variance in performance. As hypothesized, self-efficacy beliefs made an independent contribution to the prediction of performance despite the expected powerful effect of writing aptitude. Aptitude also had a strong direct effect on self-efficacy, which mediated the indirect effect of aptitude on performance. Self-efficacy had direct effects on apprehension and perceived usefulness. Girls and boys did not differ in performance, but girls reported higher writing self-efficacy, found writing more useful, and had lower apprehension. Results support the hypothesized role of self-efficacy in Banduras (1986) social cognitive theory.

Toward a positive psychology of academic motivation

Abstract The purpose of this study was to integrate constructs from positive psychology with constructs from motivation theories that have received most of the attention in studies of academic motivation. Achievement goals, expectancy beliefs, and value were predictive of the positive psychology variables. Task goals were associated positively with optimism and with invitations, whereas performance-avoid goals were associated negatively with optimism and perceived authenticity. Expectancy and value constructs were associated positively with optimism, perceived authenticity, and invitations. Positive psychology variables were stronger in high-achieving students than in low-achieving students; boys had stronger perceived authenticity than girls did. Findings indicate that constructs drawn from positive psychology can help explain academic motivation and achievement.

Self-Efficacy for Self-Regulated Learning: A Validation Study

The psychometric properties and multigroup measurement invariance of scores on the Self-Efficacy for Self-Regulated Learning Scale taken from Banduras Childrens Self-Efficacy Scale were assessed in a sample of 3,760 students from Grades 4 to 11. Latent means differences were also examined by gender and school level. Results reveal a unidimensional construct with equivalent factor pattern coefficients for boys and girls and for students in elementary, middle, and high school. Elementary school students report higher self-efficacy for self-regulated learning than do students in middle and high school. The latent factor is related to self-efficacy, self-concept, task goal orientation, apprehension, and achievement.

Self-efficacy beliefs

This article describes the nature of the self-efficacy beliefs of individuals. Following a brief overview of social cognitive theory, we define self-efficacy and show how it is embedded within a theory of personal and collective agency that helps regulate human well-being and attainment. Self-efficacy is distinguished from related conceptions of personal competence, and the sources and effects of self-efficacy beliefs are identified. We trace the familial, social, and educational influences on self-efficacy development, and conclude with an overview of empirical results that address the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and academic motivation and achievement.

Empirical Properties of a Scale to Assess Writing Self-Efficacy in School Contexts

Abstract The psychometric properties of a scale assessing the writing self-efficacy of 1.258 students from Grades 4 to II were analyzed with exploratory factor analysis. Two factors emerged. I designating basic grammar skills and I designating more advanced composition skills. The Writing Self-Efficacy Scale (F. Pajares & G. Valiante, 1999) functioned equally well at each academic level assessed.

Formalist thinking and language arts instruction: teachers’ and students’ beliefs about truth and caring in the teaching conversation

Abstract Two studies illustrate the concern that the connection between teachers’ beliefs and their instructional practices can be a troublesome one if beliefs are informed by formalist thinking related to truth and caring in the teaching conversation. Twenty-seven middle school language arts teachers and 216 8th grade students were asked what they thought would constitute appropriate responses to a middle school student’s request for feedback about his poem. In spite of their training and experience, the instructional strategies of the teachers were guided by formalist beliefs about what they believed to be sound pedagogy. As a consequence, they minimized the importance of what the student actually said in his poem. Honest criticism and instruction were minimized. Teachers interpreted caring as helping the child to feel good about his work and about himself independent of the work’s merits. In contrast, students called out for honesty and for academic instruction and interpreted caring as receiving academic help. Few expressed formalist principles, and most argued that their teachers need not surrender truth, criticism, or instruction to express care and concern. They also revealed that they could, and would, see through their teachers’ efforts at impression management. Findings are interpreted within a framework provided by S. Cavell (1969) ’s criteria for reciprocal conversation.