We investigated: (a) the associations of implicit theories and epistemological beliefs and their effects on the academic motivation and achievement of students in Grade 6 science and (b) the mean differences of implicit theories, epistemological beliefs, and academic motivation and achievement as a function of gender and race/ethnicity (N=508).…

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal stories of men who selected careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) to better understand the ways in which their self-efficacy beliefs were created and subsequently influenced their academic and career choices. Analysis of 10 narratives revealed that mastery…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Albert Bandura's four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy on students' writing self-efficacy beliefs (N = 1256) and to explore how these sources differ as a function of gender and academic level (elementary, middle, high). Consistent with the tenets of self-efficacy theory, each of the…

The contribution made by the self-efficacy component of A. Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory to the study of self-regulation and motivation in academic settings was studied. Findings demonstrate that particularized measures of self-efficacy that correspond to critical tasks surpass global measures in outcome explanation and prediction. (SLD)

Examined the personal narratives of 25 women excelling in mathematics, science, and technology careers to understand the importance of their self-efficacy beliefs. Findings suggest that the perceived importance of self-efficacy beliefs may be stronger for women in male-oriented domains than for those operating in traditional settings. (SLD)

The purpose of this study was to examine whether constructs drawn from invitational theory serve as additional sources of self-efficacy beliefs of students in Grade 6 (N = 468). The hypothesized sources and the invitational constructs each correlated with academic self-efficacy. Invitations, mastery experience, and physiological state predicted…

Path analysis was used to test the predictive and mediational roles of self-efficacy beliefs in mathematics problem solving for 350 undergraduates. The predictive role of self-efficacy supports the hypothesized role of self-efficacy in the social cognitive theory of A. Bandura (1986). (SLD)

This paper explored the contributions made by self-efficacy theory to the study of self-regulation and motivation in academic settings. Findings on the relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance are first summarized. The conceptual difference between the definition and use of perceptions of competence in social cognitive theory…