Assessing the Effect of General Self-efficacy on Academic Achievement Using Path Analysis: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Although self-efficacy is a construct born originally out of and into the field of psychology, its importance and relevance extend de facto outside its original field of research to span multiple closely related disciplines including, but in no way limited to, applied linguistics and educational psychology mainly for its demonstrably strong association to a vast range of language-related educational phenomena. In the present study, we set out to examine, by means of the Spearman correlational test and through the construction of a direct effect model, the relationship between general self-efficacy beliefs and academic achievement. For this, we used responses of one hundred and thirty-eight (N = 138) EFL students of undergraduate and graduate levels from numerous universities across different regions in Morocco. Findings show a very moderate significant correlation between self-efficacy and academic achievement as measured by GPA. Further, a constructed direct-effect path model showed a significant positive impact of self-efficacy on academic achievement, substantiating further the existing link between the two constructs. In addition, a gender-based comparison in terms of self-efficacy using an independent sample t-test revealed that females reported higher self-efficacy beliefs than their male counterparts. Finally, we conclude with a summary of the study and some recommendations for future research.

Learning physics online or face-to-face: A case study of STEM and non-STEM students

“…Third, math proficiency predicted performance in physics, but its contribution across academic majors and modes of instruction was rather modest. In agreement with Hudson and Rottmann (1981), our findings suggest that besides math competency, other factors are likely to be more influential, such as the general confidence that students exhibit in their abilities to overcome obstacles and complete tasks given to them (i.e., general selfefficacy; Chen et al, 2001;Bouih et al, 2021). In another study involving math learning (Pilotti et al, 2022a), we found no differences in female students' general self-efficacy between STEM and non-STEM majors.…”

Male-Female Differences in EFL Learning and Achievement in Morocco: Evidence from Beni Mellal

“…However, albeit the findings of this study may not have concurred with researchers reporting boys' superiority (Hutt, 1979;Collis & Williams, 1987), they do not stand in opposition to an abundant mass of evidence drawn from other more published studies concerned with the same issue (Powell, 1979;Ekstrand, 1980;Burstall, 1981;Stockard & Wood, 1984;Riding & Banner, 1986). This tendency to favor girls over boys with regards to language performance has recently been well-attested and stressed by several investigations (Licht et al, 1989;Halpern, 1992;Murphy, 2010;Główka, 2014;Benattabou, 1990;Khoumich & Benattabou, 2020;Bouih et al, 2021).…”

The Effect of Educational Technology on EFL Learners’ Self-Efficacy

“…They argued that some reasons for self-efficacy, such as performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, oral encouragement, and emotive provocation, should be emphasized by instructors to enhance learner academic achievement. Bouih et al (2021) found out that self-efficacious learners have remarkable achievements in academic environments. Furthermore, some studies have shown that EFL learners’ self-efficacy is significantly correlated with their language skills.…”