Sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics domains: A meta-analysis

The impact of community of inquiry and self-efficacy on student attitudes in sustained remote health professions learning environments

BACKGROUND

Sustained remote learning environments, like those experienced in late 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, share characteristics with online courses but were not intentionally designed to delivered virtually. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Community of Inquiry, a widely used online learning environment framework, and self-efficacy on perceived student attitudes within sustained remote learning environments.

METHODS

An interinstitutional team of health professions education researchers collected survey data from 205 students representing a wide range of health professions in five U.S. institutions. Latent mediation models under structural equation modeling framework were used to examine whether student self-efficacy mediates the relationship between Community of Inquiry presence and student's favorability of sustained remote learning delivered in the prolonged stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

Higher levels of teaching presence and social presence in the remote learning environment were associated with higher levels of remote learning self-efficacy which, in turn, predicts variance in positive attitudes toward remote learning. When mediated by self-efficacy, significant variance in student's favorability of sustained remote learning was explained by teaching presence (61%), social presence (64%), and cognitive presence (88%) and self-efficacy. Significant direct and indirect effects for teaching and social presence, and only direct effects for cognitive presence were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study establishes the Community of Inquiry and its three presence types as a relevant and stable framework for investigating sustained remote health professions teaching and learning environments, not only carefully designed online learning environments. Faculty may focus course design strategies which enhance presence and increase student self-efficacy for the sustained remote learning environment.

Identifying Group Work Experiences That Increase Students' Self-Efficacy for Quantitative Biology Tasks

Quantitative skills are a critical competency for undergraduates pursuing life science careers. To help students develop these skills, it is important to build their self-efficacy for quantitative tasks, as this ultimately affects their achievement. Collaborative learning can benefit self-efficacy, but it is unclear what experiences during collaborative learning build self-efficacy. We surveyed introductory biology students about self-efficacy-building experiences they had during collaborative group work on two quantitative biology assignments and examined how students' initial self-efficacy and gender/sex related to the experiences they reported. Using inductive coding, we analyzed 478 responses from 311 students and identified five group work experiences that increased students' self-efficacy: accomplishing the problems, getting help from peers, confirming answers, teaching others, and consulting with a teacher. Higher initial self-efficacy significantly increased the odds (odds ratio: 1.5) of reporting that accomplishing the problems benefited self-efficacy, whereas lower initial self-efficacy significantly increased the odds (odds ratio: 1.6) of reporting peer help benefited self-efficacy. Gender/sex differences in reporting peer help appeared to be related to initial self-efficacy. Our results suggest that structuring group work to facilitate collaborative discussions and help-seeking behaviors among peers may be particularly beneficial for building self-efficacy in low self-efficacy students.

Aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy-a mixed methods study

Introduction

Engineers' work has become more complex with increased demands in today's changing working life. Self-efficacy is essential to successfully adapt to work-related changes and to cope with adverse job demands. However, less is known about aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy. Therefore, this study explores facilitators and barriers to aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy beliefs to continue working until expected retirement age. An additional purpose is to explore if any of the aspects described by the engineers are more prominent.

Methods

The study design was exploratory, using mixed methods with a qualitative to quantitative approach. A total of 125 engineers, aged between 45 and 65 years, answered two open-ended survey questions about what positively and negatively affect their occupational self-efficacy beliefs to continue working. First, data was analyzed using an inductive manifest qualitative content analysis. Next, descriptive statistics were performed based on the results of the qualitative study.

Results

The analyses revealed that health and working conditions that affect health were crucial facilitators and barriers for the aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy to continue working until expected retirement age. Furthermore, the engineers emphasized competence, motivation from meaningful tasks, family and leisure, and private economy.

Discussion

The aging engineers' own health seems to be prominent in their self-efficacy regarding a full working life; consequently, support still needs to address issues affecting health.

Co-working with robotic and automation technologies: technology anxiety of frontline workers in organisations

Purpose

The advent of robotics and automation technologies was augmenting firm initiatives to attain competitive advantage. From a resource-based view perspective, human-led capabilities were important to operate with technology resource base of an organisation. This was evident for both manufacturing as well as services firms. However, employees as an individual confronted technology anxiety (TA) when they were working with new technologies like robotics and automation technologies. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to examine the factors causing TA.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the novelty of this research study context a qualitative exploratory method was designed. For this research study, the data collected was through in-depth interviews conducted through open-ended semi-structured questionnaire. The data was collected from 62 frontline employees who were working with robotics and automation-based technologies in manufacturing firms. The authors applied thematic content analysis on collected data for analysis.

Findings

Technology anxieties ranged from fear of complete inability to learn new technologies, failure to learn new technologies properly, incapability to implement the learned skills and job loss to younger technology savvy employees. Finally, there was anxiety over job loss as automation and robotic technologies over the years was expected to erode the employment of human workforce altogether.

Research limitations/implications

The author undertook the research study based upon the TA perspective advocated by Meuter et al. (2003) and Yang and Forney (2013). Furthermore, this research study in the context of robotics and automation-based technologies in the manufacturing sector applied the mental accounting theory (Thaler, 1999) and technology self-efficacy perspective (Huffman et al., 2013).

Practical implications

Managers involved in the implementation of robotics and automation-based technologies were required to address TA of employees. Fear of job loss had to be addressed specially in a country like India. Anxiety regarding the ability to learn to work with robotics and automation technologies also was needed to be addressed by managers through adequate training and time for preparation. The benefits of robotics and automation-based technologies for employees as well as organisations have to be ascertained through open communication between the management and the frontline employees.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was one of the first empirical research studies which deliberated regarding TA in the context of frontline workers working with robotics and automation-based technologies in the manufacturing sector. This research study was based upon a combination of varied perspectives ranging from micro foundations theory, TA, mental accounting theory and technology self-efficacy perspective.

Exploring the differential effects of career and psychosocial mentoring on newcomer socialization

Drawing on the social cognitive career theory, this study proposed an integrative framework to uncover how and when different types of mentoring accelerate newcomer’s socialization in corresponding domains. We tested this relational model with time-lagged, multisource survey data collected from 157 newcomers and 88 supervisors. The results indicated that career mentoring facilitated newcomer task mastery, task performance, and job satisfaction by improving newcomer occupational self-efficacy, whereas psychosocial mentoring promoted newcomer job satisfaction and social integration via inspiring newcomer social self-efficacy. Furthermore, newcomer learning adaptability amplified the influence of career mentoring on newcomer occupational self-efficacy, as well as the impact of psychosocial mentoring on newcomer social self-efficacy. Our study extended the mentoring and socialization literature and provided significant practical implications for managers on how to arrange tailored mentoring to facilitate newcomer socialization.

Enhancing Career Decision Status of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students Through Learning Engagement: Perspective of SOR Model

Higher education plays the role of cultivating talents in national development and meets the talent sources needed by the development of the state, industries and enterprises. Besides, for students, higher education can provide stimuli to improve the development of family and personal career. Especially for socioeconomically disadvantaged Students, higher education means the main factor for turning over the Socio- Economic Status. Universities endow students with abundant employment skills, so as to make them more confident in contending with the challenges in the job market. However, innate pessimism or negative attitudes and cognition may exist in socioeconomically disadvantaged Students, thereby providing effective learning context to improve their learning engagement. This study explores the influence on students’ career decision status from deep approach to learning, problem-based learning, self-efficacy and employability. A total of 627 valid questionnaires are collected in this study. PLS-SEM was adopted to verify the structural relationship in data analysis via SmartPLS. The results indicate that deep approach to learning and problem-based learning have significant impacts on students’ self-efficacy and employability; self-efficacy has significant impacts on employability and career decision status; employability has significant impact on career decision status; and that self-efficacy and employability play significant mediating roles in the research framework.

Career Self-Efficacy, Future Perceptions, and Life Satisfaction: Investigating Two Adolescent Career Development Models

This study examined two models of adolescents’ future perceptions and life satisfaction through a sense of career self-efficacy. Derived from the satisfaction model proposed by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), both examined models address work and family domains but differ in how career self-efficacy is appraised. The integrative model considers career self-efficacy a latent variable, incorporating three self-efficacy types as follows: occupational, spousal, and managing work and family roles. The alternative discrete model considers these three self-efficacy types separately. Israeli Jewish adolescents ( N = 264) completed measures of the three self-efficacy domains, future perceptions, and life satisfaction. Findings for both models extended the SCCT’s satisfaction model’s applicability to adolescents. The broader, integrative definition of career self-efficacy proved superior to the alternative model, reckoning the self-esteem types discretely. Research and practice implications are discussed.

Engineering Learning Experiences: A Scale Adaptation and Validation into Turkish

Undergraduate students' learning experiences are thought to have a significant impact on their future career choices. The Engineering Learning Experience Scale (ELES) was created within the framework of Social Cognitive Career Theory to accurately evaluate learning experiences arising from direct or indirect learning activities in or out of school. The purpose of this research is to adapt and validate the ELES in Turkish. The scale was given to two groups of engineering students from a large public university in Turkey. In order to provide evidence of the reliability and validity of the scale, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to analyze the psychometric properties of the instrument. According to the confirmatory factor analyses, the correlated four-factor model suited the data well. This study strengthens the standing of the ELES as a useful measurement tool in the field of engineering.

Career Development in Highly Sex-typed Postsecondary Vocational Technical Education Programs: A Social Cognitive Analysis

Using social cognitive career theory (SCCT), we examined the career development of students in sex-typed postsecondary Vocational Technical Education (VTE) programs in the Chilean context. We assessed the moderating effects of students’ socioeconomic background, sex, membership to the sex-atypical group, and the intersection of these attributes across SCCT measures and the model’s predicted relationships. The results showed that students in sex-atypical careers, particularly low-income students, perceived supports and barriers differently, and that supports and barriers have different effects on self-efficacy and outcome beliefs. We also found differences between female and male students in these careers path, which suggests that the former face more challenges. However, we also found that their career development process unfolds similarly, suggesting that strategies designed to support these groups may be equally helpful for female and male students. We discuss the findings in light of prior literature and offer practical implications for VTE institutions.

STEM Stories: Fostering STEM Persistence for Underrepresented Minority (URM) Students Attending Predominantly White Institutions

Challenges persist in creating a diverse pipeline of STEM professionals. This study aims to understand the multifaceted experiences and needs of Underrepresented Minority (URM) college students as they navigate STEM environments and career choices. Utilizing social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this qualitative, multi-institutional study explored the varied experiences and barriers that 44 URM STEM students negotiated at two Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Implications for practice, research, and policy focus on interventions aimed at increasing persistence and fostering STEM career decision-making. Keywords: STEM, underrepresented minority students, career exploration, student-faculty relationships, mentoring

Validity and Reliability of Adapted Self-Efficacy Scales in Malaysian Context Using PLS-SEM Approach

Self-efficacy scales have been used widely across curriculum and demographic structures, while retaining their objectivity in a specific domain. This pilot study aimed to test the validity and reliability of adapted scales that incorporated four sources of self-efficacy (mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and emotional and physiological states), as well as science self-efficacy in the Malaysian context. A total of 109 students participated in this study. Data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), by using the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. The reliability criteria were determined through outer loading and composite reliability (CR). The assessment of convergent validity was performed using the average variance extracted (AVE), while the discriminant validity of this instrument was confirmed using the heterotrait–monotrait criterion (HTMT), along with the bootstrapping procedure. The CR values were at a satisfactory level, and two indicators were eliminated (PM3 and PMPR6) to improve the AVE values of the construct. All the values were assessed in the HTMT criterion, along with the confidence intervals in the range recommended to prove discriminant validity. The assessment of validity and reliability, through PLS-SEM, indicated that the scales used in this study are valid and statistically reliable.

Lean in? The role of single sex schools in the gendering of confidence in high school adolescents

Structural inequalities and stereotypes are held out as explanations for gender differences in reported levels of confidence. However, while it is reported that in the absence of stereotypes women and men should possess identical levels of self-confidence, no study to date has tested this hypothesis. Single sex schools were identified as an environment where structural bias might be mitigated. From a survey of 9,414 Australian adolescents aged 13–17 years attending single sex high schools, no significant difference in overall self-efficacy was identified between genders. Overall, by age cohort there was no significant difference between boys’ and girls’ self-efficacy, with a minor exception of the 15 years cohort. Self-efficacy levels were linked to participation in team sport and undertaking leadership roles. The study provides the first large scale study that demonstrates that women are no less confident than men under conditions where gendered structures are mitigated by their environment.

Calculus Self-Efficacy Inventory: Its Development and Relationship with Approaches to learning

This study was framed within a quantitative research methodology to develop a concise measure of calculus self-efficacy with high psychometric properties. A survey research design was adopted in which 234 engineering and economics students rated their confidence in solving year-one calculus tasks on a 15-item inventory. The results of a series of exploratory factor analyses using minimum rank factor analysis for factor extraction, oblique promin rotation, and parallel analysis for retaining extracted factors revealed a one-factor solution of the model. The final 13-item inventory was unidimensional with all eigenvalues greater than 0.42, an average communality of 0.74, and a 62.55% variance of the items being accounted for by the latent factor, i.e., calculus self-efficacy. The inventory was found to be reliable with an ordinal coefficient alpha of 0.90. Using Spearman’ rank coefficient, a significant positive correlation ρ ( 95 ) =   0.27 ,   p <   0.05 (2-tailed) was found between the deep approach to learning and calculus self-efficacy, and a negative correlation ρ ( 95 ) =   − 0.26 ,   p <   0.05 (2-tailed) was found between the surface approach to learning and calculus self-efficacy. These suggest that students who adopt the deep approach to learning are confident in dealing with calculus exam problems while those who adopt the surface approach to learning are less confident in solving calculus exam problems.