I.1 The contributions of social cognitive theory in learning

Cognitive social theory emphasizes the role of cognitive processes, vicarious, self-regulating and self-reflexive in the adaptation of persons to different environmental aspects (Bandura, 1986). This approach highlights the dynamic nature of learning in which the individual will be proactive and where "self" will take an important place in the knowledge and skills acquisition mechanism. Human functioning is here apprehended by functions combining them behavioral, contextual and internal factors to individuals.

I.2 The perception of learners

According Rock (2001), the perception "is one of the most important scientific problems" (p.VII). It is part of the four schools of thought suggesting an intelligence of perception. The theory of inference shows that individual behavior are predictive, deductive on objects from the stimuli they represent. In the Gestalt theory, individuals perceive objects under a single aspect, understood as a whole and not as a sum of components. According to the theory of psycho-physical or theory of the stimulus ,  the information in our environment explains perceptions. Each type of perception corresponds to a single stimulus. The information processing theory emphasizes the role of stimuli that generate in individuals encodings leading to representations and treatment of information.

From a psychological perspective, perception is "all procedures that allow us to be aware of the surrounding world and build our own mental representations of this world" (Bagot, 1999, p.5). According to the authorperception is an ongoing activity, based on complex mechanisms, not automated. The perception of an object is driven by the energy that comes from the object, not by the object itself. This stimulation acts on various systems such as sight, hearing. Rock (2001) opposes constructs characterizing perception and "direct recordings of reality" (p.6). Perception is related to the properties of the object, but independent of objective knowledge.

The works of Bruner (1957,1958) and of probabilistic functionalism current showed that perception was not only defined by the sensory message, but was influenced by factors related to experience, emotions, values. The stimulations will convey informations, which will be processed and selected according to the above factors. Bruner ascribes to the perception a predictive value depending on the value that individuals assign to  objects. They are part of a hypothetical deductive approach where assumptions about the nature of objects will be invalidated, confirmed, in part or completely, by the information conveyed by the stimulations

I.3 Problematic

As part of a survey (Albero&Safourcade, 2014; Safourcade&Dubouix, 2015) on  students enrolled in engineering courses in European higher education (universities, grandes écoles), we studied the evolution of learners skills perceptions for five years of training. The skills covered by the title of engineer are classified by the french national directory of professional certifications (RNCP) into three types, academic, professional and transversal. (Safourcade, 2012 ,2013). This typology is a French implementation of European recommendations to harmonize the landscape of European higher education (Bologna, 1999). In the acquisition mechanism of these skills , engineering students are required to mobilize different types of resources (Jonnaert,2009; Roegiers 2010; Sorel&Wittorsky,2005): Social, material, cognitive, metacognitive (De Ketele, 1993) , informational, emotional (Sander&Sherer, 2014). This article examines the role of a social cognitive process, the feeling of competence in mobilizing the environmental and personal resources of learners. The mobilization concepts and integration of acquired (Perrenoud, 1995,1999;Scallon, 2007) knowledge are intrinsically linked to the notion of competency defined as "the ability for an individual to mobilize , in an internalized and reflected way, an integrated package to deal with any situation belonging to a family resource situations (Roegiers 2010, p.242).

Albero, B., & Safourcade, S.(2014). Compétences et formation à distance : Des prescriptions du dispositif aux attitudes des étudiants. Enquête exploratoire en Ecole d’ingénieur. Distances et Médiations des Savoirs, 6,1-17 (AERES-CNU 70ème section). Bagot, J-D. (1999). Information, sensation et perception. Paris : Armand Colin. Bandura, A. (2002). Autoefficacité. Bruxelles : De Boeck. Bruner, J.S.(1958). Social psychology and perception, in Maccaby E.E.,Newcomb T.M. Hartley E. L. (éd.) , Readings in Social Psychology, New-York, Holt. Bruner, J.S. (1957). "On perceptual readiness", Psychol, 64, 123-152. Delorme, A. & Flückiger,M. (2003). Perception et réalité. Une introduction à la psychologie des perceptions. Bruxelles : De Boeck. Durand,D.(1979). La systémique. Paris, Presses universitaires de France. COMPLEX Jonnaert, P., (2009). Compétences et socioconstructivisme. Bruxelles, Deboeck. Le Moigne,J-L.(1990). La modélisation des systèmes complexes. Paris, Dunod. COMPLEX Le Moigne,J-L.(1986). Intelligence des mécanismes, Mécanismes de l’intelligence. Paris, Fayard. Perrenoud, P. (1999). Dix nouvelles compétences pour enseigner. Paris : ESF. Perrenoud, P. (1995). Des savoirs aux compétences. De quoi parle-on en parlant de compétences ? Pédagogie collégiale, 9(1), 20-24 et p3 Rey,B. (1996). Les compétences transversales en question. Paris, ESF éditeur. Roegiers, X. (2010). Une pédagogie de l’intégration. Bruxelles : De Boeck Rock,I.(2001).La perception. Bruxelles: De Boeck université. Sander,D.&Sherer,K. (2014). Traité de psychologie des émotions. Paris, Dunod. Safourcade, S., & Dubouix, P. (2015). Engeneering education in Europe: from mobilized resources to expected skills. In EAEEIE2015 International conference. Technical university of Denmark. Copenhague,1-3 juillet 2015. Safourcade, S. (2013). French Diplomas and Skills in European Context, International Law Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, juin. Safourcade, S. (2012) : Le cadre européen des certifications et approche par compétence : quels enjeux en France ? Weiterbildung, 23, Heft 3, S. 16 – 18 Scallon, G. (2007). L’évaluation des apprentissages dans une approche par compétences. Bruxelles, De Boeck. Sorel, M. & Wittorsky, R. (2005). La professionnalisation en actes et en questions. Paris : L’Harmattan.