Self-efficacy and Self-regulated Learning in Academy - Article Example

?Running Head: SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-REGULATED LEARNING IN ACADEMIC CONTEXTS  SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-REGULATED LEARNING IN ACADEMIC CONTEXTS  of the Writer Name of the Institution SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-REGULATED LEARNING IN ACADEMIC CONTEXTS Abstract It has often been wondered and debated as to what exactly is needed to achieve superiority or top performance in any field of endeavor. While some cite natural ability, genetics or even loads of practice and determination, the use of a proper training program and guidance of professionals cannot be left out. It is the same factors that affect the field of academic learning. Indeed, a number of experiments and studies have shown that self efficacy or belief in one’s abilities combined with effective self learning techniques can often result in better performances and achievements. It appears that the belief in oneself to master a difficult topic helps convert a challenge into something doable- converting something seemingly impossible to what can be possible. It can spell the difference between persevering and giving up. This paper seeks to prove that self efficacy combined with effective self learning techniques and a support system can be beneficial not only to gifted but also average and even below average students in the classroom. Some useful learning techniques have also been given. Teachers and students are both encouraged to adopt the techniques suggested at the end of the paper and use them in teaching and learning a subject so that the best results can be achieved in an academic context. INTRODUCTION The connection between self belief and superior performance has been the subject matter of psychologists, motivational gurus and social thinkers for some time now. Ever since Rene Descartes evocated ‘I think, therefore I am’, psychologists have been keen to establish the relationship between man’s ability to achieve and set goals and establish his own destiny. As education is one of the primary means of gaining and increasing knowledge in general or specific spheres of activity, an individual seeking to improve his understanding and skill in a particular subject is aided by his dedication, determination and resolve to master the specific skills and other attributes that would make him an expert in the field or at least better than many others. Thus self efficacy and self regulated learning in academic contexts can certainly boost a student’s grades and give him a better future, or indeed more options to choose from in terms of a career. Today, rapid changes in the world around us have led to a knowledge explosion, as information assails our senses every day. It is therefore important that everyone should learn and know how to digest new information. It means that we should have the skills to learn. Since learning is a life-long process, people should be trained with learning skills right from their youth- in fact from their school going days. However it has been observed that while some children are eager and enjoy the learning experience, others seek to avoid it at all costs and view it as a chore- they are afraid to learn. Thus parents and teachers have long been bothered by the problem of children’s low achievement in school. Purpose of the Research Since school is the primary setting in which academic self-regulatory skills are developed and maintained, this study seeks to understand the relation among self-regulated learning, self-efficacy, and school achievement. Some useful suggestions will also be made for teachers to help students develop high self-efficacy and good self-regulatory skills in order to make themselves self-regulated learners. To be a self-regulated learner is the final goal of school education and life-long education. LITERATURE REVIEW Self-efficacy, importance of task value beliefs versus perceptions of task difficulty, proper and clear goal orientation and personal interest in the task- these are the concepts that should be regulated by teachers and students in order that they may use self learning principles to the best of their ability. All these concepts are invaluable to students seeking self efficacy and self learning abilities, as they reiterate important concepts and build on existing knowledge in going from the simple to the esoteric. The concept of self efficacy in learning was formally introduced by the psychologist Albert Bandura. In his Self Efficacy: The Exercise of Control (1997), he describes self efficacy as a person’s belief in their own abilities and competences. For Bandura, humans are proactive, self regulating, self reflecting beings. His social learning theories ultimately give way to social cognitive theory. Bandura’s social learning theory focuses on the assumption that humans can learn through observing from three sources- (i) a live model, where an actual person demonstrates the desired behavior; (ii) verbal instruction- under which the person teaching the behavior describes it in some detail, and then instructs the learner how to emulate the behavior, and (iii) symbolic- in which some indirect form of learning through the media is chosen as the method of imparting instruction, like film, video, radio, movies and the internet. In this method, a real or fictional character can be shown as the one demonstrating the desired behavior to be observed and learned (Bandura, 1997). A look at instructional methods followed today both in traditional classrooms as well as in online learning courses would indicate that a mixture of these methods is being used to impart education and learning to the student. However in terms of learning from other humans and the environment around him, Bandura proposed that there is a reciprocal and complex interaction between all these causative agents that mix with a person’s individual and personal characteristics and lead to a certain result or outcome. In the context of teaching students in the classroom, teachers would do well to note that the process of learning or modeling behavior according to Bandura consists of the following four steps: Attention, Retention, Reproduction and Motivation. Attention or interest as we might alternatively call it- is the basis of all learning. It is imperative that for a student to learn something, he or she must first of all pay attention to the modeled behavior. Retention refers to the fact that for students to learn something, they have to make efforts to remember or retain the information. This will enable them to produce the results in their own lives and environment later on or as needed. Further in regard to the reproduction of the desired behavior, common sense indicates that it must be a response tailored to the situation at hand or as taking place in the environment around him. The degree to which this is successful improves with practice. Lastly, there must be a motivating force which induces the student to act. Without motivation, there can be no response. The fear of low grades, failure or being unable to reach the next stage of progress are some factors that induce students to overcome their lethargy and procrastination and make the necessary effort to pass the class or course of learning (Bandura, 1997). Beginning of chapter learning outcomes as indicated in the modern textbooks of today especially at the professional level thus help both student and teacher on the route to mastering the rudiments of teaching and learning important concepts, as principles build on each other and move from the basic to the complex and contemporary issues. Camahalan (2006) had conducted a study to find out if the use of motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning strategies can significantly reduce the level of anxiety that college students experience while taking mathematical tests. The results of the study demonstrated that students as active managers of their behaviors can be taught how to be responsible learners and thus acquire the goal of life-long education-which consists of knowing not just what to learn but also how to learn it. When students personally initiate and direct their own effort to acquire knowledge and skill rather than depending on parents, teachers or other means of instruction, we may say that they are self-regulated learners (Zimmerman, 1989). Many educators and policy makers currently defend the view that a major objective of formal education should be to teach students self-regulatory skills- and these skills are viewed as vital, not only to guide one’s own learning during formal schooling, but also to educate themselves and update their knowledge after leaving formal education (Boekaerts, 1997). As Zimmerman makes clear, the quality of the self-regulatory skills students use while learning depends in part on the underlying beliefs that students hold about themselves. Key among these beliefs are self-efficacy beliefs or students’ judgments of their capability to accomplish a task or succeed in an activity (Pajares, 2002). According to Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory (1986), students’ self-efficacy beliefs—their judgments of confidence to perform academic tasks or succeed in academic activities—predict their subsequent capability to accomplish such tasks or succeed in these activities. Within the self-regulation paradigm, self-efficacy is considered a major factor related to achievement (Mclnerney, 2008). It is equally important for students to see that making the right efforts and focusing in the right direction can improve their grades and help them achieve a higher GPA thus providing better chances in the job market after they graduate. Except where raw talent or natural skills are the only criteria, most of what is learned in school, college or university can be self taught and self mastered if one really makes the effort. Team play, leading and following, interacting with others and other social skills can also be learned in the real world through evaluating one’s experiences with them. While it has been observed that the use of self efficacy, motivational techniques and self regulated learning can make learning efforts more successful, not using or absence of knowledge of these techniques and skills made students more apprehensive about their learning ability and increased anxiety levels thereby contributing to low performance. Boekaerts (1997) maintains that both self regulation and self motivation can be hard to monitor, especially if the subject is difficult. Self regulated learning is an interactive process that can be taught and has been known to be a key factor in contributing to student achievements. However a student may be more comfortable in using such self regulation in one context or subject and for the ones in which he has no or little interest, he cannot be motivated to do the same. Prior knowledge or interest about the subject can be a key factor in generating enthusiasm while learning it. Indeed, Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1990) in their experiment on 45 boys and girls each at different schools- one for the academically gifted and the other a regular one asked students to use and compare 14 strategies geared toward self learning and improving skills in both mathematical and verbal ability. They found that the gifted students performed consistently higher than the regular students. It was also found that maturity of age resulted in a better understanding and use of the concepts of self learning. Since the experiment was conducted on a combination of students from the 5th, 8th and 11th grades, it was found that students in higher classes made better use of the 14 strategies than students in lower classes. This study is significant because it took a mixture of Asian, Hispanic, White and Black students from a middle class background as subjects. This gives support to the assertion that there is a good correlation between students’ efforts towards learning and their achievements, using self regulation principles. Bandura, Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1992) have sought to trace a pathway of the cause and effect relationships that existed between parental goal setting, student efforts and end of semester performance in a social studies course. They have noted that a combination of goal setting at the beginning of the course along with students’ self efficacy efforts and their own personal goals resulted in better grades at the end of the semester. In other words, students’ efficacy along with their own self beliefs led to better learning performances and also helped them set higher goals for themselves in terms of belief and achievement. Motivation is a key factor in getting good results and thus self regulation depends on student efforts, student motivational levels and their perception of self efficacy. What all this means is that even below average students can be motivated if they are encouraged to set goals for themselves, as they develop further interest in the subject matter and why it is being taught. As their self efficacy develops they can monitor their efforts and achievements. Perceived self efficacy has been shown to have beneficial effects both inside and outside the classroom. It can for example also be used in an office or organizational setting. It is widely known that in the organizational setup, the vision for the company in terms of yearly performance objectives is translated into departmental tasks and personal objectives that have to be realized by every department and the persons comprising it. Bandura has also developed multi-dimensional scales to measure the students self efficacy for achievement. While the parental goals for students influenced the students to use the learning strategies contributing to better results at the end of the term, an alternative cause for better grades could also be attributed to students’ self efficacy for self regulated learning leading to students’ self efficacy for academic achievement. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS The foregoing literature has indicated that high self-efficacy can enhance self-regulated learning and conversely, effective self-regulatory practices can also enhance self-efficacy. They both influence the academic performance and achievement. Based on the literature that has been reviewed, some suggestions are presented below for teachers to help students gain high self-efficacy and effective self-regulated learning in order to have good academic performance. If self-regulated learning can be taught and make students self-regulated learners, the goal of life-long education has been achieved. Proximal Goal Setting Self-regulated learning is stated to happen when students activate and maintain experiences and responses systematically geared toward achieving their learning goals (Schunk, 1990). A worthwhile goal is ascertained through its specificity, proximity, and difficulty level. A proper goal means that the goal is practical and challenging yet attainable. Improper goals or those set too high or too low do not enhance self-regulated learning and self-efficacy. Setting too difficult a goal will make students produce low self-efficacy and further lead them to give up easily. But on the converse, setting too easy a goal will not be challenging enough to keep students interested and make students feel they are capable of doing better and high self-efficacy certainly will not be produced. This proves that a proper goal set is really important for a student a produce high self-efficacy. Teachers may help their students to set appropriate goals according to their levels on the specific domain. This is also a kind of training- to train students knowing how to set proper goals for themselves. Effective Learning Strategies After setting a proximal goal, effective learning strategies are needed for a student to achieve the goal. Based on the 14 self-regulated learning strategies, teachers can systematically assist students to practice how to use it independently and correspondingly. As we know, effective self-regulated learning strategies use can lead to increase in self-efficacy. Through knowing how to use learning strategies effectively and increase self-efficacy, learning motivation and capacity will be increased. Health Attributional Feedback Attribution theory is considered to be a cognitive theory of motivation and is based on a general “godlike” metaphor of the individual that suggests that individuals are conscious and rational decision makers (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002, p. 93). A series of studies demonstrated that attributional feedback affects students’ attributions, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and achievement (Schunk, 2008). Teachers should teach students that success and failure are relative to effort; by not attributing their academic failure to inability but quality and quality of effort, students could be motivated to try other means of understanding concepts which could give better results. We would do well to make students think their good academic performance comes from their ability and effort. Competitive Models Although significant adults such as teachers and parents can demonstrate task to provide vicarious learning for students to increase their self-efficacy, peer model also play an important role. By observing competitive peer model, students can easily gain self-efficacy when the observing model attain success. Teachers can ask different students demonstrate problem solving or share their study experiences; it can provide a standard for other students to use in self-evaluation. Appropriate Rewards and Appraisals When teachers provide rewards to students’ ability or effort, it enhances students’ self-efficacy. As we know, rewards are external motivation and can be internalized to be internal motivation; appropriate rewards are helpful in helping learning. But teachers have to remember that excessive rewards and appraisals will lead to bad outcomes. It is therefore suggested for teachers to provide rewards and appraisals to those students with low ability based on their effort and to those students with high ability based on their ability. Past Experiences and Oral Persuasion According to the sources of self-efficacy, we understand that both vicarious experiences and oral persuasion can enhance self-efficacy, while vicarious experiences are more effective than oral persuasion. Teachers can make students observe others and do self-evaluation in the classroom. By telling students “you are the best” or “you can do it well” teachers can practice oral persuasion. Teachers may also provide students with their own past experiences in order to motivate them. These are all methods by which self-efficacy may be enhanced. It is pertinent to note in the realm of educational psychology that if teachers and administrators design and formulate courses of learning with the above strategies in mind, they can create the best levels of interest in the students taking the course. Students are often known to question and sometimes aggravate teachers by insisting upon knowing the applicability of some of the more esoteric theoretical concepts in real life. But this could in reality be a very pertinent question and so the teacher would do well to relate his or her subject to some example of its usefulness in life. This would not only help retain the student’s interest in the long run but could also help nurture in them a real love for the subject in the future. (3000 words) REFERENCES Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: the Exercise of Control. New York: W.H. Freeman. Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social-Cognitive View. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Boekaerts, M. (1997). Self-regulated learning: A new concept embraced by researchers, policy makers, educators, teachers, and students. Learning and Instruction, 7(2), 161-186. Camahalan, F.M. (2006). Effects of Self-Regulated Learning on Mathematics Achievement of Selected Southeast Asian Children. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 33(3), 194-205. Mclnerney, D. M. (2008). The motivational roles of cultural differences and cultural identity in self-regulated learning. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 369-400). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Pajares, F. (2002). Gender and Perceived Self-Efficacy in Self-Regulated Learning. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 116. Pintrich, P. R., & Schunk, D. H. (2002). Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Schunk, D. H. (1990). Goal Setting and Self-Efficacy During Self-Regulated Learning. Educational Psychologist, 25(1), 71. Schunk, D. H. (2008). Attributions as Motivators of Self-Regulated Learning. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 245-266). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Zimmerman, B. J., Bandura, A., & Martinez-Pons, M. (1992). Self-motivation for academic attainment: The role of self-efficacy beliefs and personal goal setting. American Educational Research Journal, 29, 663-676. Zimmerman, B. J., & Martinez-Pons, M. (1990). Student Differences in Self-Regulated Learning: Relating Grade, Sex, and Giftedness to Self-Efficacy and Strategy Use. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 51-59. Read More