Question

Bandura (1997) stated that a person's belief about his or her ability to perform a specific task is one of the most powerful predictors of actually performing well on that task. In fact, Hattie (2009) found that a student's self-report of grades (one way to measure self-efficacy) was more than twice as powerful a predictor of student achievement as actual past performance (d=1.44; d=.67, respectively).

Distinguish the differences between self-efficacy and different measures of self-esteem (such as general self-esteem, academic, physical, or social self-esteem). Assess two classroom or professional practice situations that illustrate the concepts of self-efficacy and self-esteem and indicate what strategies might be used to enhance a weakness or capitalize on a strength.

How would you teach self-efficacy for a specific task to a student whose perceived self-efficacy was low?

Answer 1

Self-esteem has been defined as an individual’s feelings of worth. These are subjective evaluation of how much worthy an individual feels. Self-efficacy has been defined as thoughts or perceptions about one’s abilities and capabilities. These are the thoughts about how effective and efficient an individual can be in terms of performing a task. General self-esteem has been defined by Coopersmith, 1967 as “evaluation which the individual makes and customarily maintains with regard to himself: it expresses an attitude of self approval and indicates the extent to which an individual believes himself to be capable, significant, successful and worthy.” Self-efficacy can be said to be an individual’s capability to assess their capability for organizing and executing various tasks successfully. Therefore, it may be said that self-esteem is subjective evaluation about how worthy an individual is whereas self-efficacy is judgment about how capable an individual is. Self-esteem is considered to be the overall value that one places on oneself as a person.

In a classroom when students are asked to perform on a test or in a play, there self-efficacy is stimulated. The abilities they have in regards to the character that they are portraying in a play, the way they perform on stage and the manner in which they are able to handle the stage anxiety are all parts of self-efficacy. In the same example, the acclaim that they receive on their performance, the feelings based on how people are passing judgments about them and the resulting effect on their feelings of self-worth will influence their self-esteem. For capitalizing on a strength one needs to focus on what one is capable of doing.

For enhancing one’s abilities on a task, the individual may receive training on how to complete a task on time. They may be reminded of the past experiences where they performed well on a task. They may be encouraged to use their abilities to the maximum and trained on how to deal with anxiety and negative emotions that arise and act as a hindrance to their effective performance. Thus, individuals may be helped to achieve what they are capable of achieving and will become fully functioning individuals.