The Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Academic Achievement in Adults' Learners.

This paper examines the relationship between the academic selfefficacy of an adult learners group in an online learning context with their actual performance. Our study aims to evaluate the relationship between self-concept of a group of students in online context and their academic achievement. Data were collected from 63 students of both genders, with average age of 42 years old, selected from the first years of their undergraduate studies. We analyzed their performance in academic course specifies. An adapted questionnaire was used to measure self-efficacy (α=.908). The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to see the relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance. The analysis of the data indicated that students’ level of self-efficacy is high (average=45) and a significant relationship exists between selfefficacy and academic achievement (r=0.286, at 0.05 level).

[1]  D. Stone.  Overconfidence in Initial Self-Efficacy Judgments: Effects on Decision Processes and Performance , 1994 .

[2]  A. Bandura.  Perceived Self-Efficacy in Cognitive Development and Functioning , 1993, Educational Psychologist.

[3]  B. Zimmerman,et al.  Self-Efficacy: An Essential Motive to Learn. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[4]  P. Shefler.  The adult learner. , 1971, Washington State journal of nursing.

[5]  M. F. Goulão.  Virtual learning styles: does gender matter? , 2013 .

[6]  Samer Khasawneh,et al.  Self-efficacy and college students' perceptions and use of online learning systems , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[7]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy. I: V. S. Ramachandran (red.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (vol. s. ). New York: Academic Press. , 1994 .

[8]  Bill Kops.  The Profession and Practice of Adult Education , 2013 .

[9]  Terri Gullickson,et al.  Encyclopedia of human behavior , 1995 .

[10]  P. Pintrich.  A Manual for the Use of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). , 1991 .

[11]  Mark Brown,et al.  Investigating a relationship between learner control and self-efficacy in an online learning environment , 2012, Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning.

[12]  Maura Ignazia Cascio,et al.  The role of self efficacy and internal locus of control in online learning , 2013 .

[13]  D. Schunk,et al.  Self-Efficacy and Academic Motivation , 2002 .

[14]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Reliability and Predictive Validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Mslq) , 1993 .

[15]  A. Bandura,et al.  Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[16]  K. Patricia Cross,et al.  Adults as learners , 1981 .

[17]  Peter Eachus,et al.  Development of the Web Users Self-Efficacy Scale (WUSE) , 2006 .

[18]  M. DeTure,et al.  Cognitive Style and Self-Efficacy: Predicting Student Success in Online Distance Education , 2004 .