EDU305 Do Self-Efficacy Beliefs Differ Across Academic Domains?

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Word count: [insert exact word count here, including abstract, intro, method, results, and discussion. The method and results are 556 words, leaving you approximately 1444 (+/- 10%) words for the remaining sections]

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Abstract

The abstract has its own page and should be 100-150 words. This contributes to your word count. The abstract introduces the research question, summarises hypothesis/es, outlines the methods and results, and then links the findings back to the research question. No indentation is required. You dont need references here as you are not going deep into background literature. Use PsycINFO and ERIC (which can be accessed through the library multi-search) to get a feel for model abstracts from published educational research.

Introduction

Start your introduction on this line with a one-inch indent. The introduction should make up 1/3 of the total report and should be written in present tense (except when referring to specific studies conducted by other researchers). All aspects of the introduction contribute to your word count, including in-text references.

Start by describing the general research problem or question that the report will address, and then discuss literature that is relevant to this topic: i.e., that tells us what we do already know about the problem, and what we dont yet know. Move from broad, topic-relevant information about the general area to information that is highly specific to your specific hypothesis/es. End the introduction by stating your hypothesis/es.

Method

Participants

There were 115 children and adolescents in the study. Participants were between 5 and 17 years of age (M = 14.32, SD = 2.95), and 58 (50.4%) were female. The distribution of participants at each age is shown in Figure 1.

All participants were personally known to student-researchers enrolled in a second-year educational psychology class in Sydney, Australia. Participants were asked to provide verbal consent to take part in the study, and parents/guardians provided written consent.

Measures

Academic Self-efficacy.

Self-efficacy was measured in three academic subjects: mathematics, English, and science. For each subject, the five-item Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scale of Academic Efficacy was used (Midgley et al., 2000). Responses to each item were given on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), and participants were asked either to respond verbally or to use a thumbs up/down/to the side approach to indicate their agreement with that item. After summing scores across the five items separately for mathematics, English, and science, participants were categorised into one of three groups for each subject: 5-10 = weak self-efficacy; 11-15 = moderate self-efficacy; and 16-20 = strong self-efficacy.

Procedure

Following fgapproval from the institutional ethics review board, each student-researcher (or, student-researcher pair) worked with one participant via Zoom or similar telecommunication means. Following a period of rapport building, the student-researcher then sought verbal consent and administered the self-efficacy measures. The student-researcher then thanked the participant for their time and concluded the interview.

Results

To determine how students rated their self-efficacy, we examined the percentage of participants who reported weak, moderate, and strong self-efficacy for each academic subject. The majority of participants reported moderate or strong self-efficacy in each subject, and few participants reported weak self-efficacy (see Figure 2). This suggests that the majority of students believed they had the capacity to do well and overcome challenge in mathematics, English, and science.

To determine if participants self-efficacy beliefs significantly varied across academic domains, we conducted three paired-samples t-tests. The average self-efficacy rating in mathematics was M = 3.03 (SD = .67). The average self-efficacy rating in English was M = 3.19 (SD = .58). The average self-efficacy rating in science was M = 3.06 (SD = .61).

The average rating between mathematics and English self-efficacy was not significantly different (t = 1.95, p > .05). The average rating between mathematics and science self-efficacy was not significantly different (t = 0.48, p > .05). Finally, the average rating between English and science self-efficacy was not significantly different (t = 1.62, p > .05). Taken together, these findings suggest that students reported similar levels of self-efficacy across all academic subjects.

Given our wide age range and gender balance, we conducted supplementary tests of self-efficacy scores among younger students (5-12) and older students (13-17), as well as by gender. There were no significant differences between younger and older students: (all ts < 0> .57). There were two significant gender differences. Boys reported higher self-efficacy than girls in mathematics (t = 2.04, p = .04). Girls reported higher self-efficacy than boys in English (t = 3.76, p < .001). The self-efficacy of boys and girls did not significantly differ from one another in science (t = 0.96, p > .05)

Discussion

Your discussion should be approximately equal length to your introduction. First, state whether the key results support the hypotheses that you posed at the end of the introduction. Next, discuss your results with reference to past literature. Are they consistent or inconsistent, and why might this be? This section should mirror your introduction. Next, move on to discussing the broader implications of your findings, for example, the significance they hold in the educational context. Finally, discuss any limitations of your study and indicate directions for future research. One way to approach this is discussing how your study could have been done better (think conceptually about what more you would want to know, and not just about the practicalities of a class research project). Make sure these suggestions are sensible and realistic, and suggest why they may lead to different or new results. Conclude with a brief evaluative statement.