This chapter will present three bodies of relevant literature: 1) literature on self-efficacy and social cognitive theory, 2) studies on teachers’ efficacy beliefs and its measurement, 3) research about teachers’ level of proficiency in English.
2.1 Self-efficacy and social cognitive theory
2.1.1Social cognitive theory
This part will firstly present something about social cognitive theory because it is the more general framework behind the self-efficacy theory. Social cognitive theory is a view of human functioning focusing on human agency (Bandura, 2001) and a way to understand “human cognition, action, motivation, and emotion that assumes that people are capable of self-reflection and self-regulation.” (Maddux, 1995, p. 4)
The roots of social
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According to Bandura (1993, p.118), self-efficacy can be defined as “people’s beliefs about their capabilities to exercise control over their own level of functioning and over events that affect their lives”. More to the point, these beliefs will mobilize the cognitive, emotional, and social resources to serve purposes.
Bandura distinguished self-efficacy from other constructs such as self-esteem, and self-concept. To begin with, self-esteem and self-efficacy were two entirely different concepts. According to Bandura (1997, p11), the perceived self-efficacy is concerned with personal capacity while self-esteem was a sense of self-worth. Specifically, the level of self-efficacy will influence people’s beliefs about their capacities that whether or not they could successfully complete a task or achieve certain goals. Nevertheless, self-esteem, as a kind of self judgment, will “affect neither personal goals nor performance” (Mone, Baker and Jeffries, 1995). For instance, a person who is a terrible swimmer would probably have poor self-efficacy with regard to swimming, but this will not affect this person’s self-esteem if he/she doesn’t count on swimming to build
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Therefore, self-concept is usually measured generally and is mostly concerned with global self-images. However, self-efficacy beliefs vary depending on domains of activities, different levels of difficulty within the same activity, and even the different circumstances (Bandura, 1997, p.11). For example, a person who has low self-efficacy in swimming may have high self-efficacy in singing, while the general self-concept may fail to explain this specificity. In conclusion, self-efficacy is different from global constructs of self-esteem and self-concept as it is specific to certain activity, certain difficulty level and certain
Dr. Albert Bandura originated social Cognitive Theory in the early 1960's. It actually stems from the Social Learning Theory. It has origins in the discipline of psychology, with its early foundation being laid by behavioral and social psychologists. There are three main purposes for this theory: (1) to understand and predict individual and group behavior, (2) to identify methods in which behavior can be modified or changed, and (3) to be used in interventions aimed at personality development, behavior pathology, and health promotion (Stone, 1998).
Also, Bandura focused on self-efficacy. Self-efficacy means that the individual will feel as if they are worthy of the best (Schultz & Schultz, 2013). “People low in self-efficacy feel helpless, unable to exercise control over life events” (Schultz & Schultz, 2013, p. 338). Although Antwone joined the navy, he was still haunted by his past. His models taught him to not enjoy being intimate with anothe...
The Self-Efficacy Theory was proposed and originated by Albert Bandura in the late 1970s (Hayden, 2014). The purpose of Albert Bandura creating this theory was to connect and explain why two different behavioral treatments showed varying degrees of success in behavior modification. The first behavioral treatment was based around the idea that changes in behavior were the result of insight gained by a therapist. The second behavioral treatment was based around behavior modification in the setting in which the behavior was portrayed. Bandura unified these elements of behavior modification treatment and explained this by illustrating how an individual’s confidence in personal capability contributes to overall individual
The control group did not receive any books at all (Albarran & Reich, 2013). Perceived barriers in relation to (MSE) participants were asked, “What are some things that make it hard to read to your baby?” and provided a “Yes /No” answer key for their response. Studies were also measured by using Logistic regression in relation to self-efficacy along with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regressions (Lin, Reich, Kataoka, & Farkas, 2015).In addition a third OLS multiple regression was used with mothers’ reading (SA) as the predictor variable and total barriers (Lin, Reich, Kataoka, & Farkas,
Resnick, B. (2003). The theory of self-efficacy. In M. Smith & P. Liehr (Eds.), Middle Range
Self-Efficacy is the notion that an individuals ' beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance when participating in events that affect their lives (Bandura, 1994). An individual 's perceived self-efficacy is related to motivation in that if an individual believes he or she has the capability to perform a task, and that performance will then lead to a positive result, the individual will be motivated to perform (Bandura, 1994). Self – Efficacy is affected in four ways through mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and emotional states.
...and observing the consequences. The role of self-efficacy is also emphasized by Bandura; self-efficacy underlies people’s faith in their own abilities. Self-efficacy can be developed by paying close attention to past success and failures, positive reinforcement and encouragement from others also plays a role in developing self-efficacy. The social cognitive theory is unique among other learned personality theories in that the emphasis places on the reciprocity between individuals and the environments they find themselves in. Learning theorists have been accuses of oversimplifying personality to such an extent that is has become meaningless, this is because they ignore many of the internal processes that are inherently human. These criticisms are blunted somewhat by social cognitive approaches because it explicitly considers the role of the cognitive process.
Locke, Edwin A. (1997). Self-efficacy: the exercise of control. Personnel Psychology, 50 (3), 801-804. Retrieved May 2, 2011, from ProQuest Psychology Journals. (Document
Self-esteem has to do with the value you place on yourself and your abilities regardless of what anyone thinks or says. According to Smith and Mackie in 2007, Self-Esteem was defined as follows: “The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in how we feel about it.”
Social cognitive theory is different from social learning theory because it takes into account cognitive processes including thinking, memory, language, and evaluating consequences. According to social cognitive theory, individuals play a part in their development (Malone, 2002). Cognitive patterns play a very large role in depression (Furman & Bender, 2003). For example, people don’t have a motivation to move forward in difficult times if they don’t believe they are able to do so. Self- efficacy is an important part of personal agency, and a main aspect in social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001). A person’s perceived abilities and confidence play a part in what he or she does in his or her life. Cognition becomes a motivator or a hindrance, according to social cognitive theory. A person’s perceived self- efficacy helps determine what a person chooses to do, the amount of effort they put into it, and how long they can persist if there are barriers or failures that occur. How a person sees failure is also influential (Bandura, 20...
Gecas, V. (1989). The Social Psychology of Self-Efficacy. Annual Review of Sociology. 15, pp. 291-316.
Self-efficacy is the belief that someone has the inherent ability to achieve a goal. A student who has a high self-efficacy allows himself to believe that he can be successfully academically.(Bozo & Flint, 2008) He believes that a challenging problem is a task that can be mastered This student is more committed to work in the classroom. (Schunk,1991). On the other hand, a student who has a low level of self-efficacy is likely to be academically motivated. He is more likely to avoid a task that is difficult, give up, make excuses, or lose confidence in his abilities (Margolis & McCabe, 2006). This failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Teachers need to find ways to motivate these students by increasing their self-efficacy.
Self-concept can be described as how a person views themselves. There is a variety of factors that impact a person’s self-concept but the biggest impact comes from self-esteem. Self-esteem is much like self-concept the only difference is the addition of emotions. For example say an individual likes a brand they are aware that they enjoy the brand so that’s self-concept. Self-esteem on the other hand, if nobody else in the workplace likes the brand programme individual likes that could have a negative effect on a person’s self-esteem and therefore effect a person’s self-concept. In the workplace self-concept is of the uttermost importance when estab...
Sanna, L. J. (1992). Self-efficacy theory: Implications for social facilitation and social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62(5), 774-786. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.62.5.774
The concept of self-efficacy is grounded in Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory. Bandura (1994) defines perceived self-efficacy as “people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce efforts” (p. 71). In essence, one having strong self-efficacy experience increase in motivation, accomplishment, and personal well-being ( Bandura, 1994). Those with a low sense of self-efficacy, on the other hand, often suffer stress and depression; unbelieving of their capabilities and often succumbed to failure (Bandura, 1994).