Making the Connection: Engaging and Impacting Student Outcomes by Building Self-Efficacy

What Is Self-Efficacy?

Self-efficacy is important in instruction and student achievement. It refers to the person's belief in their ability to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance outcomes (Bandura, 1997). In the online environment, this is demonstrated when “the capability for learning vicariously allows individuals to acquire beliefs, cognitions, affects, skills, strategies, and behaviors from observations of others in their social environments and vicariously via media outlets” (Schunk & Mullen, 2012, p.221). Bandura explained that there are four primary sources of efficacy: performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological reactions (1997). Self-efficacy is pivotal in instructional settings and significantly impacts student achievement, particularly in online environments.