The Implications of Self-Efficacy Theory for Student Motivation to Achieve in

Elementary Mathematics: A Literature Review

Kristin ODell

EPSY 5183-503 Theories of Social Psychology

Oklahoma State University

 Self-efficacy is an attribute that affects motivation, goal pursuit, learning, and

achievement. First introduced by Alfred Bandura as an essential concept in his Social

Cognitive Theory, self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of successfully meeting

expectations for a given objective (Bandura, 1989). According to Bandura (1989), the

capacity to control ones own thought processes, motivation, and behavior is a distinctly

human characteristic (Bandura, 1989). People are able to effect change in themselves and

their situations because judgments and actions are partly self-determined (Bandura,

1989).

Self-efficacy beliefs can be self-aiding or self-hindering (Bandura, 1989). Self-

efficacy beliefs determine levels of motivation, which are reflected in how much effort

one will exert for a given task and how long one will persevere when presented with

obstacles (Bandura, 1989). The stronger ones beliefs in their capabilities, the more

persistent they will be to meet an objective. Someone full of self-doubt is quicker to give

up when faced with difficulty (Bandura, 1989). People with strong perceptions of self-

efficacy are more apt to set high goals for themselves and to commit to those goals

(Bandura, 1989). Students self-efficacies regulate their learning and their motivations to

master academic activities (Bandura, 1993).

Four areas have been hypothesized to affect self-efficacy: the individuals past

performances, observation of others performances, verbal persuasions, and physiological

states (Siegle & McCoach, 2007). Vicarious experiences (observing others) have more

impact when one feels that the person they are observing is similar to oneself (Siegle &

McCoach, 2007). According to a study by Siegle and McCoach (2007), verbal persuasion

works best when followed by successfully meeting an objective. By itself, verbal

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persuasion does not work as well as experiencing success or vicariously experiencing

success through observing peers (Siegle & McCoach, 2007). Another key factor in verbal

persuasion is the perceived credibility of the persuader. Persuasion that one is capable of

succeeding has more influence when one believes the persuader to be trustworthy and

knowledgeable (Siegle & McCoach, 2007). Physiological signs of nervousness (sweaty

palms, rapid heartbeat, etc.) can make a person think that they are having difficulty,

which undermines self-efficacy (Siegle & McCoach, 2007).

Self-efficacy relates to several areas of psychology, but is particularly important

to educational psychology, especially in the areas of motivation and goal pursuit. The

feasibility of a goal is related to how well a person believes they can do what is necessary

to reach the desired goal. Self-efficacy needs to be high for strong goal commitment

(Bargh, Gollwitzer & Oettingen, 2010). Fortunately, self-efficacy is not based on

successfully completing the specified goal in the past, but on belief in ones skills and

through observing others who are similar succeeding in a similar way (Bargh, Gollwitzer

& Oettingen, 2010).

Actions are initially shaped in ones thoughts (Bandura, 1993). Ones beliefs in

their own self-efficacy will affect what they construct and rehearse in their mind in

anticipation of performing an action (Bandura, 1993). High self-efficacy breeds

visualizations of success, whereas low self-efficacy leads to visualizations of difficulties

and failure (Bandura, 1993). Someone that is full of self-doubt and anxiety will have less

cognitive energy to devote to perseverance (Bandura, 1993). Low self-efficacy is a major

contributing factor to achievement anxiety (Collins, 1985). Two people with the same

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knowledge and skills may perform very differently as a result of differences in self-

efficacy (Bandura, 1993).

Bandura (1993) hypothesized that there are two ways in which a person may view

ability: acquirable or inherent. For people that view ability as acquirable, functional

learning goals are set and challenges are sought so that learning can happen through

mistakes (Bandura, 1993). For those that believe ability is something one can acquire,

mistakes are not off-putting and their self-judgments are based on their improvements

rather than on social comparison (Bandura, 1993). In contrast, for people that believe

abilities are inherent, poor performance and mistakes imply lack of intelligence (Bandura,

1993). They try to minimize errors, which does not allow for experiential learning

through mistakes, and an effortful task is threatening because it presumably reveals that

one is not smart (Bandura, 1993). The successes of others may be viewed as belittling to

the people that believe abilities are inherent (Bandura, 1993).

Self-efficacy affects the long-term goals and aspirations that people set for

themselves. Greater self-efficacy means belief in more career options and a willingness to

prepare for different occupations through educational decisions (Collins, 1985; Pajares &

Kranzler, 1995). In addition to career goals, formal education aims to equip students to be

life-long learners, which requires the ability to self-direct learning, which requires belief

in oneself (Collins, 1985).

Staffs that are determined and believe that students are motivatable and teachable,

no matter their background, achieve at the highest percentile rank (Collins, 1985).

Teachers should pay as much attention to students perceptions of competence as to actual

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competence because perceptions may more accurately predict students motivation and

future academic choices (Pajares & Kranzler, 1995).

In the past 40 years researchers have done many studies that support the theory

that high self-efficacy beliefs positively affect academic performance and persistence

(Siegle & McCoach, 2007). In a study by Bandura (1989) participants were made to

manage computer-simulated organizations in which they had to match individuals to

subfunctions based on their interests and talents. They also had to learn and implement

instructive and motivational strategies for enhancing the performances of their groups.

Some of the participants were told that proficient management reflected inherent

intellectual capacity. The others were told that performance on the task reflected

acquirable intellectual skills. Those that believed they could learn the skills needed did

considerably better than the participants that were told that the task reflected inherent

intellectual capacity (Bandura, 1989). Those that believed the skills needed were inherent

became easily frustrated when presented with difficulties (Bandura, 1989).

Collins (1985) studied children at three levels of math ability. In every level, the

students with more self-efficacy performed better than their peers with self-doubts. At all

three levels, the ones with more self-efficacy discarded faulty strategies and chose to

rework more problems that they had failed. Positive attitudes toward math were better

predicted by self-efficacy than by actual ability. Pajares and Kranzler (1995) found

similar results. Students self-efficacy beliefs about their math capabilities had strong

direct effects on their math anxieties and on their abilities to problem solve in math when

general ability was controlled for (Pajares & Kranzler, 1995).

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 Collinss (1985) study also found that poor teacher self-efficacy compounds poor

student self-efficacy. This insight has important implications for elementary math

teachers, as researchers have found that elementary teachers can have math anxiety,

which can lead to poor teaching self-efficacy (Harper & Daane, 1998). Pajares &

Kranzler (1995) studied ways that teachers can help improve student self-efficacies in

math. They found that teachers should help students identify what they know and what

they dont know, but in a way that does not lower confidence and optimism.

Siegle & McCoach (2007) tested instructional strategies for increasing student

self-efficacy. From the study, the best practices included reviewing lesson

accomplishments from previous days, stating lesson objectives, drawing students

attentions to the lesson objectives as they are covered, reviewing the lesson objectives at

the end of the lesson, asking students to write or post something they learned or excelled

at each day, attributing failures to lack of effort, identifying student growth and giving

specific positive feedback, and using student models to demonstrate positive traits and

behaviors (Siegle & McCoach, 2007). Feedback is most effective when success is

attributed to ability (when tasks are meaningful and reasonably difficult, not patronizing)

and failure is attributed to effort. Giving unsolicited help and targeting low achievers

could negatively affect self-efficacy (Siegle & McCoach, 2007). Teachers should also

help students set specific, measurable, and attainable goals so that they can experience

meeting goals. Students should not view goals as too hard or too easy. Teachers should

help guide students as they break large goals into smaller goals (Siegle & McCoach,

2007)

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 Researchers, Skaalvik, Federici, and Klassen (2015), found that students had

better self-efficacies in math when they perceived their math teachers to be emotionally

supportive. Their findings demonstrated that student motivation is strongly predicted by

self-efficacy and moderately predicted by teacher emotional support (Skaalvik, Federici,

& Klassen, 2015). In their study, they found that boys had significantly higher

mathematics self-efficacy compared to girls, a finding which has implications for the

gender stereotype perspective in which mathematics is perceived as better suited for

males than females (Skaalvik, Federici, & Klassen, 2015).

Ellen Usher is a researcher who has concentrated on self-efficacy beliefs and

student achievement. In her 2009 study she found several contributing factors to a high

sense of self-efficacy: mastering subskills, accomplishing difficult tasks, and interpreting

ones own performance as successful (Usher, 2009). She found that teachers attempts to

boost self-efficacy in their students will be ineffective if students are presented with work

that provides very little challenge or satisfaction (Usher, 2009). Reiterating findings from

previous studies, Usher (2009) reported that helping students become better self-

regulators of their learning could improve their self-efficacies.

Self-efficacy is closely related to ones perceptions. Usher (2009) interviewed

students about their perceptions and cognitions in relation to self-efficacy. She found that

internal dialogues and visualizing oneself overcoming challenges aid in self-efficacy

(Usher, 2009). Self-talk and self-modeling are self-regulatory skills that contribute to a

self-empowering cycle that enhances confidence and competence (Usher, 2009). She also

presented advice to teachers and parents about the messages they send either explicitly or

implicitly. She advises that teachers and parents be aware of the messages they send

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because those messages frame the perceptions that students make about their academic

competencies (Usher, 2009). It is important that teachers and parents send the message

that academic performance can be improved through effort and perseverance. This

understanding of academic competence allows student to use feedback adaptively instead

of defensively guarding their self-efficacies (Usher, 2009).

A fair amount of research has supported the ideas that Bandura first expressed

about self-efficacy. In a review of the literature, Zimmerman (2000) summarized that the

empirical evidence supports self-efficacys role as a potent mediator of students learning

and motivation. Critical evaluations of self-efficacy research have been focused on two

questions: Is self-efficacy a different construct than self-concept? What empirical

evidence is there to support Banduras hypothesis that the individuals past performances,

observation of others performances, verbal persuasions that one is capable, and

physiological states are equally contributing factors to self-efficacy?

Ferla, Valcke, and Cai (2009) did a study in which they defined self-efficacy and

self-concept and controlled for both to better understand if the constructs were the same

or different and what implications each has on learning. Academic self-concept refers to

an individuals knowledge and perceptions about themselves in academic achievement

situations (Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009). Academic self-efficacy refers to individuals

convictions that they can successfully perform given academic tasks at designated levels

(Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009). Academic self-efficacy is usually measured at a task-

specific level while academic self-concept is usually measured at a more general level

(Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009). Self-concept beliefs rely heavily on social comparative

information and reflect appraisals from significant others (Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009). In

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contrast, self-efficacy requires goal-referenced evaluation (Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009).

Academic self-concept refers to past-oriented perceptions while self-efficacy is more

future-oriented (Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009). According to their research, self-concept

and self-efficacy are distinctly different constructs (Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009).

Ferla, Valcke, and Cai (2009) studied self-concept and self-efficacy in relation to

math performance and found that math self-concept influences math self-efficacy, but not

vice-versa. Math self-efficacy better predicted math performance, whereas math self-

concept better predicted math interest (Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009). When controlled for

each other, academic self-concept is a better predictor and mediator for affective-

motivational variables, while academic self-efficacy is the better direct predictor and

mediator for academic achievement (Ferla, Valcke, & Cai, 2009).

In her 2008 study, Usher attempted to determine which factors where the greatest

contributors to academic self-efficacy which addressed the assumption made by other

researchers that Banduras ordering of the four main factors signified that past

performance is the greatest factor and the least greatest factor is physiological state.

Through her research she found that Banduras hypothesis that mastery experience was

the best predictor of student self-efficacy was correct, but the other three factors were less

consistent (Usher, 2008). She stressed that differences in the predictive values of

vicarious experience, verbal persuasions, and physiological states depend on the domains

in which they are assessed (Usher, 2008).

Self-efficacy beliefs hold a lot of meaning for goal attainment. People hold self-

efficacy beliefs regarding an infinite number of tasks and situations including social

competence, career goals, educational goals, personal goals, etc. Research has been done

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regarding self-efficacy and a wide array of circumstances. Academia is one of the most

important areas of self-efficacy research because education sets the foundation for adult

life. Education research tends to focus on language arts, math, and science. Self-efficacy

studies can be found for each of these areas. Math is of particular interest due to its

reputation as being the most difficult subject area for many people.

When information about self-efficacy is narrowed to math education, there is still

an overwhelming amount of research to read. Researchers seek to answer questions such

as: Does self-efficacy predict math achievement? Does low math self-efficacy affect

career options and majors? What is the role of self-efficacy in gender differences in math

education? Does teacher self-efficacy affect student math achievement? Most studies

relevant to math education and self-efficacy are centered on middle school, high school,

and college students. Research regarding self-efficacy and math in elementary schools

tend to focus on teacher self-efficacy for teaching math. There are few studies regarding

the self-efficacies of math students in elementary schools, which is unfortunate

considering self-efficacies are initially constructed while in elementary school.

There should be greater focus on self-efficacies in elementary school students.

Elementary school is where many students face their first experiences with academic

success and academic difficulties. Elementary school is when parents begin to show their

attitudes toward schooling and academic areas. Parental attitudes are often internalized by

children and become the lens through which children view their own experiences with

schooling. Self-efficacy beliefs built in elementary school are what students take with

them to middle school, high school, and beyond. It is of utmost importance that

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elementary students experience success and develop self-regulatory learning strategies in

order to inhibit anxiety in more advanced grades.

While many studies show general ways to promote self-efficacy, educators and

students could benefit from understanding math-specific factors of self-efficacy. So often

it is said that people dislike math and that people believe they are just not good at math.

These attitudes and beliefs can have large impacts on self-efficacy and especially so on

impressionable elementary students. What can elementary teachers do to combat the

perception that math is an inherent ability, math is too difficult, and math is not

enjoyable? If researchers can find ways that elementary teachers can improve the self-

efficacies of their students, more students can reach middle school and high school with

the right mindset to persevere and succeed in math.

Our self-efficacy beliefs affect our lives in more ways than we can count. In every

action we take, we must have to some degree a belief that we can achieve the outcome we

desire. Self-efficacy aids in the motivation to persist and to learn from experience. Low

self-efficacy can lead to anxiety, frustration, and even depression (Bandura, 1993). Self-

efficacy has been studied in many ways and across many domains due to its importance

in achievement and goal attainment, but self-efficacy holds a particular significance to

education.

Researchers will continue to look for new ways to understand self-efficacy as it

relates to education. Those interested in improving math education would do well to

continue to study the ways that students build their self-efficacy beliefs in math. It is

especially vital that researchers begin to fill the gap in research that is student self-

efficacy in math in elementary school. If researchers can find new information about how

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young children build positive self-efficacy beliefs in math, then educators can use the

findings to employ new instructional methods that enhance math self-efficacy in

elementary students.

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 References

Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist,

44(9), 1175-1184

Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning.

Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117-148 (Bandura, 1993)

Bargh, J., Gollwitzer, P. & Oettingen, G. (2010). Motivation. In Fiske, S. T., Gilbert, D.

T., 7 Lindzey, G. (Eds), Handbook of Social Psychology, Volume I (5th ed), (pp.

268- 316). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley

Collins, J. (1985). Self-efficacy and ability in achievement behavior (motivation)

(Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from Dissertation Abstracts International

(8506172)

Ferla, J., Valcke, M. & Cai, Y. (2009). Academic self-efficacy and academic self-concept:

Reconsidering structural relationships. Learning and Individual Differences, 19,

499-505

Harper, N. & Daane, C. (1998). Causes and reduction of math anxiety in preservice

elementary teachers. Action in Teacher Education, 19(4), 29-38

Pajares, F. & Kranzler, J. (1995). Self-efficacy beliefs and general mental ability in

mathematical problem-solving. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 20, 426-

443

Siegle, D. & McCoach, D. (2007). Increasing student mathematics self-efficacy through

teacher training. Journal of Advanced Academics, 18(2), 278-312

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Skaalvik, E., Federici, R. & Klassen, R. (2015). Mathematics achievement and self-

efficacy: Relations with motivation for mathematics. International Journal of

Educational Research, 72, 129-136

Usher, E. (2009). Sources of middle school students self-efficacy in mathematics: A

qualitative investigation. American Educational Research Journal, 46(1), 275-314

Usher, E. (2008). Sources of self-efficacy in school: Critical review of the literature and

future directions. Review of Educational Research. 78(4), 751-796

Zimmerman, B. (2000). Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary

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