Efficacy Theory

Models of social cognition promote the notion that individuals are motivated for achievement and that such attainment cannot be quantifiably measured in degrees or scales of performance. The individual is an active and self-regulating agent devoid of biological and environmental conditions whose motivation is akin to a specific situation or setting. The purpose of evaluating an individual's motivational success is to determine its genesis as means for future replication in similar but new settings. Embedded within social cognition models are various motivational constructs that influence success and include an individual's feelings, beliefs, interests, and values. Research has identified self-efficacy as the essential motivational construct for students in educational settings, given its positive impact on their academic attainment and quest to accomplish complex tasks.

It is important to distinguish self-efficacy theory from self-esteem and self-concept. The latter terms account for the student's global beliefs of worth, ability, or competence that exceed cognitive performance (e.g., “I am a good reader; I am a poor learner”). In contrast, self-efficacy beliefs are task specific (e.g., “This reading passage is a challenge, but I know how to look for clue words to understand it”) and not universal.

In theory, students with a positive self-efficacy will engage in challenging coursework throughout their education. The engagement is twofold and consists of cognitive and behavioral components. Cognitive engagement includes the student's application and development of skills. Students who believe that their repertoire of skills will allow them to accomplish a task are more prone to cognitive engagement. Behavioral engagement accounts for the student's interests and beliefs that evolve throughout an educational career. Young children may only be interested in the usefulness of a task (e.g., “How will sorting spelling words help me with the test on Friday?”), whereas older students may identify the value of a task in relation to long-term goals and aspirations (e.g., “How will enrolling in advanced literature help me develop an appreciation for the arts?”). Behavioral engagement includes observable actions, such as effort and persistence. Efficacy theorists posit that students need both cognitive and behavioral engagement to excel in academic tasks.

Efficacious theory has received research attention in the behavioral sciences and education. Areas of focus have included individuals'(a) abilities to overcome addictions, anxiety, depression, (b) athletic endurance, and (c) leadership skills. In the field of education, it has attempted to correlate efficacy with achievement goals. The research, however, cannot account for variables (e.g., class size) that enhance or impede the achievement of goals. Furthermore, most efficacious research has relied upon subjects disclosing their beliefs about their behavioral and cognitive engagement via questionnaires. Varying tasks and settings may have affected the subjects' responses. Therefore, the questionnaires cannot be normed and generalized. Despite its limitations, research suggests that (a) resiliency, (b) parents, and (c) peers influence a student's efficacy, and that efficacy impacts career choices. Research further suggests specific teaching strategies that educators may employ to foster a student's efficacious development.

Resiliency is one tenet that efficacious theory acknowledges as a determinant of a student's engagement. The student must overcome self-doubt and other forms of adversity. Lack of resiliency explains why certain at-risk populations, such as minority students and students with learning problems, may resist academics and drop out of school. They are unable to maintain a positive self-efficacy. Research has identified anxiety, depression, and peer pressure as stressors that threaten a student's competence and confidence.

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