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…

Presents results of an exploratory factor analysis of the mathematics self-efficacy scale. Results, based on 522 undergraduates from three different colleges, indicate that the scale is a multidimensional measure of math self-efficacy with reliable subscales. Four first-order factors were identified, suggesting that the scale taps different…

Asked 391 students to provide 3 types of mathematics self-efficacy judgments. Students' reported confidence to answer the problems they were later asked to solve proved a more powerful predictor of that performance than either their confidence to perform math-related tasks or to succeed in math-related courses. (RJM)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which A. Bandura's ([1997]) hypothesized sources of self-efficacy predict the science self-efficacy beliefs of middle school students (N = 319), to replicate previous findings that science self-efficacy predicts science achievement, and to explore how science self-efficacy and its…

The mathematics self-efficacy and problem-solving performance of 327 middle school students were assessed with multiple-choice and open-ended methods. No differences in self-efficacy resulted from the different forms of assessment, although those who took the multiple-choice test had higher scores and better calibration of ability. (SLD)

A factor analysis study provided empirical evidence of the validity of the modified Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) and its three subscales: mathematics problems self-efficacy, mathematics tasks self-efficacy, and college courses self-efficacy. The MSES was administered to 522 undergraduate students from three state universities and…

This study tested the influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, perceived usefulness of writing, and writing aptitude on 218 fifth graders' essay-writing performance. Students' beliefs about their abilities directly influenced apprehension, perceived usefulness, and performance, and partially mediated the effects of gender and…

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)

According to social cognitive theorists, people's judgments of their own capabilities to accomplish specific tasks strongly influence human motivation and behavior. Path analysis was used to test the influence of math self-efficacy and general mental ability on the math problem-solving performance of 329 high school students. A model that also…

Study tested influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, and writing aptitude on 181 ninth-grade students. Aptitude and self-efficacy had direct effects on performance. Girls and boys did not differ in aptitude or performance, but girls reported lower writing self-efficacy. Native English-speaking Hispanic students had lower aptitude…

Researchers agree that academic self-efficacy beliefs are strongly predictive of academic performance. This study investigates four students' perceptions of the evolution of their efficacy beliefs about writing and of the relationship between these beliefs and their writing competence. (JPS)

The purpose of this study was to develop scales to assess instrumental help seeking, executive help seeking, perceived benefits of help seeking, and avoidance of help seeking and to examine their psychometric properties by conducting factor and reliability analyses. As this is the first attempt to examine the latent structures underlying the…

Path analysis was used to test the influence of writing self-efficacy, self-concept, apprehension, and aptitude on the essay-writing performance of 181 ninth-grade students in a public high school in the southwestern United States. A model that also included gender accounted for 53% of the variance in performance. As hypothesized, both aptitude…

A study of 128 general education teachers found that teachers' efficacy beliefs for instructing students with learning and behavior problems had a direct effect on their perceived success in instructing mainstreamed special education students. Teacher efficacy also mediated the influence of self-perceptions related to the quality of preservice…

Guidelines regarding self-efficacy assessment are highlighted in the first section of this paper. In the second section, the issue of specificity versus generality of measurement is clarified. And last, preliminary results of a study of eighth graders (n=172) are presented which demonstrate that: (1) the optimal level of specificity of any…