I believe I can do science: Self-efficacy and science achievement of Grade 9 students in South Africa

Abstract

An important component of an individual’s scientific literacy is a positive attitude towards science. However, emphasis is too often placed on achievement scores rather than attitude. While individuals’ relative levels of problem-solving skills, inherent aptitudes for the subject matter and teaching practices are conveyed through achievement scores, attitudes to science convey individuals’ emotional evaluation of the subject. Attitudes have a strong impact on behaviour: through either facilitating the learning process or hindering it. Furthermore, attitudes towards science reflect the culture which exists within a school, as well as the wider social context within which learning takes place. As a result, understanding attitudes is a key component of the interpretation of achievement results. We used data from 12 514 Grade 9 students in South Africa who participated in the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study to investigate students’ self-efficacy in science. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to address the following key research questions: (1) What is the relationship between self-efficacy and science achievement for Grade 9 students in South Africa? and (2) What are the contextual factors associated with the self-efficacy of Grade 9 students in South Africa? The findings reveal a positive relationship between self-efficacy and science achievement and suggest a need to also focus on noncognitive aspects in order to improve science achievement. Significance: • The study contributes to understanding the determinants of science performance at school. • The findings highlight the importance of non-cognitive dimensions in science achievement at school. • The findings have policy implications for education programmes and teachers in relation to interventions which incorporate non-cognitive dimensions.

The Relationship Between Attitude Toward Science and Academic Achievement in Science: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis

“…Our results revealed that the science self-efficacy was more strongly connected to science achievement than that of interest, societal relevance of attitude toward science, and mixed attitude. This finding was in accordance with the proposition that the effect of self-efficacy on students' learning performance could be stronger than some other dimensions (e.g., value, interest; Lam and Lau, 2014 ), and self-efficacy could significantly predict science learning (e.g., Kaya and Bozdag, 2016 ; Juan et al, 2018 ; Kirbulut and Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, 2019 ). A meta-analysis conducted by Sun et al ( 2021 ) also showed that there was a positive correlation between students' self-efficacy and writing achievement in a second language.…”

Unintended Positive Consequences of Development Centres in University Graduates

“…Graduate self-efficacy is vital to academic and employability success since it is instrumental in overcoming obstacles, managing stressful situations, and achieving personal and professional goals. General research findings support this assumption, suggesting that the level of one’s self-efficacy has implications for changes in behaviour, stress management, and academic and career choices ( Gharetepeh et al, 2015 ; Juan et al, 2018 ). On the other hand, those who have a weaker sense of self-efficacy have low ambitions and weaker commitment to goals, retreat from difficult tasks, dwell on adversity, are slow to gain confidence after experiencing failure, and easily encounter stress and depression ( Mlatsheni, 2012 ).…”

“…Views of Bandura (1994) underscore this by stating that the higher an individual’s level of perceived self-efficacy, the wider the variety of career paths they seriously consider, the more interest they show in diverse career paths, and they are generally better prepared to deal with success and failures. Moreover, research shows that in relation to academic achievement, individuals with lower levels of self-efficacy achieve lower levels of academic success and continuous failure may lead to learned helplessness ( Juan et al, 2018 ). Learned helplessness is a psychological state where an individual avoids tasks that require persistence, interpret failure as a result of their lack of skills, negatively perceive tasks as challenges, and display a lack commitment ( Filippello et al, 2020 ).…”

An Action Research on the Long-Term Implementation of an Engineering-Centered PjBL of Sustainable Energy in a Rural Middle School

“…Factors that influence students' learning attitudes include their teachers, parents, and peers, with the teacher's teaching strategies and learning environment being the most significant [33]. Students translate positive classroom experiences into positive attitudes and learning efforts, thus influencing their ultimate academic performance [34]. Therefore, teachers must create positive classroom experiences for student learning.…”