Academic self-efficacy and academic self-concept: Reconsidering structural relationships

Author(s):

Johan FerlaMartin Valcke Yonghong Cai

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

24. Mathematics Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

24 SES 04, Self-Efficacy and Identity in Mathematics Education

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-28

16:00-17:30

Room:

NIG, HS III

Chair:

Birgit Pepin

Contribution

The literature on math self-efficacy and math self-concept reflects an ongoing discussion about (1) whether both judgments of self-perceived competence represent two conceptually and empirically distinct psychological constructs when studied with the same domain (e.g., Skaalvik & Rankin, 1996), (2) the nature of their relationship (Bandalos et al., 1995), (3) their antecedents (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003), and (4) the mediating role and the predictive qualities of both self-constructs for background variables such as prior knowledge and outcome variables such as math interest (Pajares &Miller, 1994). Using path analysis, this study aims to help investigate these issues by testing the fit of several alternative models. The theoretical section of the article discusses conceptual, operational and empirical differences between both math self-efficacy and math self-concept. Furthermore an overview of recent empirical findings with regard to mediational and predictive qualities of both judgements of self-perceived confidence is given. The research reported in this article is based on a secondary analysis of the 2003 PISA-survey (Programme for International Student Assessment) which focused on mathematical literacy. Next to math self-efficacy and math self-concept, the current study also takes the following variables into consideration: gender, prior math grade, difficulty level of secondary studies, math interest, math anxiety and math test score.

Method

Confirmatory factor analyses (Amos 6 with Maximum Likelihood Estimation) were carried out to investigate if MSE and MSC do indeed represent two empirically distinct constructs. In this context we note the math self-efficacy scale (8 items) was developed according to Bandura’s (1997) guidelines regarding the specificity of self-efficacy assessment and correspondence with criterion tasks (sample item: ‘How confident do you feel about having to do the following mathematics tasks: Solving an equation like 2(x+3) = (x+3).(x-3)”). The PISA math self-concept scale consists of 5 items assessing what Eccles and Wigfield (1995) identified as the ability component of subject-specific self-concept beliefs (Sample item: “I’m just not good at mathematics”). To research the mutual relationship between math self-efficacy and math self-concept, their antecedents, their mediating role and their predictive qualities, several path analyses (Amos 6 with Maximum Likelihood Estimation), testing the fit of three alternative models, were performed.

Expected Outcomes

The study indicates that math self-efficacy and math self-concept, measured at their natural specificity level, represent conceptually and empirically different constructs, even when studied within the same domain. The study further suggests academic self-concept strongly influences self-efficacy beliefs. This finding seems consistent with Bong and Skaalvik’s assertion (2003) that self-concept represents a more past-oriented, aggregated and relatively stable judgment about one’s self-perceived ability in a particular academic domain while self-efficacy represents a context-specific and relatively future-oriented judgment about one’s confidence for successfully performing an upcoming subject-specific academic task. The current study also suggests 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. However, the cross-sectional nature of the data entails that the evidence for the causal relationships inferred by the study is limited.

References

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Author Information

Johan Ferla

Ghent University

Psychology and Educational Studies

Ghent

Martin Valcke

Ghent University, Belgium

Yonghong Cai

Beijing Normal University, China

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