Writing Efficacy

Page Contents

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Baker, E. L., & Herman, J. L. (Apr 1988). Implementing STAR: Sensible Technology Assessment/Research. CSE Technical Report 285., 11p. A plan for evaluating the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) is presented, which implements the model for Sensible Technology Assessment/Research (STAR). STAR involves interactive participation in the evaluation study by ACOT participants, collateral university researchers, and University of California (Los Angeles) staff to develop a credible, adaptive set of assessment plans, procedures, and reports assessing the ACOT experiment; a phased implementation of STAR designed to conform to the rhythms of site-by-site implementation; and a focus on exploring the utility of developing STAR into a multi-user evaluation system for future coordinated implementation with new technology adoption in local districts. The STAR evaluation will be guided by questions concerning: (1) the effects of ACOT on students; (2) the influence of ACOT on organization and delivery of instruction; (3) the effects of ACOT on teachers; (4) the effects of ACOT on students' families; and (5) unintended effects that may be attributed to ACOT. The comparative impact of ACOT will be investigated for three groups of students: ACOT students over time; students at one grade level taught by an increasingly experienced ACOT teacher; and ACOT and non-ACOT students in the same and different schools. Investigation of the effects of ACOT on students will consider academic achievement, criterion-referenced student writing, problem solving, locus of control or sense of efficacy, attitudes toward school or motivation for schooling, academic self-concept, future educational and career plans, use of time at home, and site-specific and instructional goals. Similar issues will be considered for teachers and families. The evaluation was scheduled to begin in Spring 1988 at three selected ACOT sites in Memphis (Tennessee), Nashville (Tennessee), and Columbus (Ohio). (SLD) ED338682

Bernhoft, F. O. (Apr 1987). Felker's Five Keys to Self-Concept Enhancement: Secondary Classroom Research., 20pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Counseling and Development (New Orleans, LA, April 21-25, 1987). A study incorporated Donald Felker's 5 Keys to Self-Concept Enhancement in 20 minutes of timed writing weekly or bi-weekly for three months using the Coopersmith Adult Form as pre-post measure. Felker's 5 Keys are: (1) adults, praise yourselves; (2) help children evaluate realistically; (3) teach children to set realistic goals; (4) teach children to praise themselves; and (5) teach children to praise others. Subjects, 53 alternative high school language arts students at Kinney High School, Folsom-Cordova Unified School District, California were randomly assigned to control or experimental treatment with Felker's 5 Keys. Results indicated self-concept as measured by the Coopersmith increased significantly for the experimental group compared to the control group due largely to the regression of the control group's males and improvement of the experimental group's male and female scores. Females in the experimental group improved their scores at the posttest 3.5 times more than the females in the control group did. Males in the experimental group improved slightly at posttest while the control group males regressed considerably. These results support the efficacy of a regular writing assignment focusing on Felker's 5 Keys to Enhance Self-Concept among adolescents. (Thirty-three references are attached.) (RAE) ED298574

Bradshaw, R. A. (1995). Delivery of Career Counseling Services: Videodisc & Multimedia Career Interventions: ERIC Digest. ED414516

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Chandler, G. (1999). A Creative Writing Program to Enhance Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents. Journal of child and adolescent psychiatric nursing, 12(2), 70.

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Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (1989). Components Analysis of Cognitive Strategy Instruction: Effects on Learning Disabled Students' Compositions and Self-Efficacy. Paper presented at the Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 3, 353-61 Sep 1989. The viability of self-instructional strategy training was investigated in a study involving 22 learning disabled and 11 normal fifth and sixth graders. Training produced meaningful and lasting effects on composition skills and heightened the sense of self-efficacy of subjects. (TJH) EJ399799

Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (1989). Improving Learning Disabled Students' Skills at Composing Essays: Self- Instructional Strategy Training. Paper presented at the Exceptional Children, 56, 3, 201-14 Nov 1989. The study with three sixth-grade learning-disabled students found that a self- instructional strategy to facilitate the generation, framing, and planning of argumentative essays had a positive effect on the students' writing performance and self-efficacy. Effects were maintained over time and transferred to a new setting and new writing genre. (Author/DB) EJ400693

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Horn, C. A., & And, O. (Dec 1988). Effects of Cognitive Development Level on the Relationships between Self- Efficacy, Causal Attribution, and Outcome Expectancy and Performance in Reading and Writing., 10pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference (38th, Tucson, AZ, November 29-December 3, 1988). A study examined how specific developmental levels of cognitive ability affect the relationship between beliefs and performance; how cognitive development levels affect reading and writing performance; and how developmental level affects the interactions between the reading and writing domains. Subjects, 150 undergraduates between the ages of 18 and 23, were measured for cognitive developmental level, self-efficacy, causal attribution for reading and writing success and failure, outcome expectancy, locus of control, and reading and writing performance. Results indicated differences between developmental classification (concrete, transitional, formal) in the relationships between beliefs and reading or writing performance, and indicated changes in the regression models and the pattern of correlations between beliefs and reading or writing at the developmental level. Results further indicated differences between developmental classification in performance in reading and writing, and the relationship between reading and writing. Findings suggest that the specific cognitive skills represented by formal operational thinking influence both the magnitude of performance and beliefs and the structure of reading, writing, and belief relationships. (MM) ED304659

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Mayer, R. E. (March 1998). Cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational aspects of problem solving. Instructional Science, 26(1/2), 49-63(15). This article examines the role of cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational skills in problem solving. Cognitive skills include instructional objectives, components in a learning hierarchy, and components in information processing. Metacognitive skills include strategies for reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics. Motivational skills include motivation based on interest, self-efficacy, and attributions. All three kinds of skills are required for successful problem solving in academic settings.

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PageVoth, V., & Graham, S. (1999). Effects of Goal Setting and Strategy Use on the Writing Performance and Self-Efficacy of Students With Writing and Learning Problems. Journal of educational psychology, 91(2), 230.

Pajares, F., & Johnson, M. (1994). Confidence and Competence in Writing: The Role of Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectancy, and Apprehension. Research in the teaching of English, 28(3), 313.

Pajares, F., & Johnson, M. (1996). Self-Efficacy Beliefs and the Writing Performance of Entering High School Students. Psychology in the schools, 33(2), 163.

Pajares, F., & Johnson, M. J. (Apr 1995). The Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs in the Writing Performance of Entering High School Students: A Path Analysis., 34pp. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, CA, April 18-22, 1995). Path analysis was used to test the influence of writing self-efficacy, self- concept, apprehension, and aptitude on the essay-writing performance of 181 ninth- grade students in a public high school in the southwestern United States. A model that also included gender accounted for 53% of the variance in performance. As hypothesized, both aptitude and students' own confidence had strong direct effects on performance. Aptitude also had a strong direct effect on self- efficacy, which largely mediated the indirect effect of aptitude on performance. Self-efficacy had a strong direct effect on apprehension, which, in turn, had a weak direct effect on performance. Although girls and boys did not differ in aptitude or performance, girls expressed less confidence in their writing. Additionally, Hispanic students had lower performance scores as well as lower levels of confidence and self-concept and higher apprehension. Results support the hypothesized role of self-efficacy in A. Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory. (Contains 47 references, 4 tables, and 1 figure of data.) (Author/RS) ED384049

Pajares, F., & Valiante, G. (1997). Influence of Self-Efficacy on Elementary Students' Writing. The journal of educational research, 90(6), 353.

Pajares, F., & Valiante, G. (Apr 1996). Predictive Utility and Causal Influence of the Writing Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Elementary Students., 26pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New York, NY, April 8-12, 1996). According to self-efficacy theorists, people's judgments of what they can accomplish are influential arbiters in human agency and, as such, powerful determinants of their behavior. In large part, this is because these self- efficacy beliefs are said to act as mediators between other acknowledged influences on behavior, such as skill, ability, previous accomplishments or subsequent performance. Path analysis was used to test the influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, perceived usefulness, and writing aptitude on the essay-writing performance of 218 fifth-grade students. A model that also included sex (gender) accounted for a 64% variance. Instruments were group administered in individual language arts classes during two periods. During the first period, students were asked to complete the self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, and apprehension instruments. During the second class period, students were asked to write the performance measure, a 30-minute essay. As hypothesized, self-efficacy beliefs made an independent contribution to the prediction of performance despite the expected powerful effect of writing aptitude. Aptitude also had a strong direct effect on self-efficacy. Self- efficacy had direct effects on apprehension and perceived usefulness. Girls and boys did not differ in performance, but girls reported higher writing self- efficacy, found writing more useful, and had lower apprehension. Results support the hypothesized role of self-efficacy in A. Bandura's social cognitive theory. (Contains 2 tables of data, a figure, and 43 references.) (Author/TB) ED394144

Pajares, F., & Valiante, G. (July 2001). Gender Differences in Writing Motivation and Achievement of Middle School Students: A Function of Gender Orientation? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 26(3), 366-381(316). The aim of this study was to determine whether gender differences in the writing motivation and achievement of middle school students (N = 497) are a function of gender-stereotypic beliefs rather than of gender. Girls reported stronger writing self-efficacy, writing self-concept, self-efficacy for self-regulation, value of writing, and task goals, and they received higher grades in language arts. Boys reported stronger performance-approach goals. All gender differences favoring girls in writing motivation and achievement were rendered nonsignificant when feminine orientation beliefs were controlled. Findings suggest that a feminine orientation is adaptive in the area of writing, whereas a masculine orientation is beneficial when escorted by a feminine orientation. Results are interpreted from the perspective of A. Banduras (1986) social cognitive theory. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Pajares, F., Britner, S. L., & Valiante, G. (October 2000). Relation between Achievement Goals and Self-Beliefs of Middle School Students in Writing and Science. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(4), 406-422(417). Two studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between achievement goals (task, performance-approach, performance-avoid), motivation constructs, and gender in the areas of middle school writing (N = 497) and science (N = 281). In both studies, task goals were associated positively with self-efficacy, self-concept, and self-efficacy for self-regulation and negatively with apprehension; performance-approach goals were associated positively with self-concept; and performance-avoid goals were associated negatively with self-concept and self-efficacy for self-regulation and positively with apprehension. In writing, performance-approach goals also related positively with self-efficacy, whereas performance-avoid goals related negatively and girls had stronger task goals. Findings related to performance-approach goals suggest that a developmental component may be at work in determining whether these goals serve a facilitative function in fostering motivation. Task goals and performance-approach goals were related, suggesting that they are each grounded in self-regulatory practices that lead to positive outcomes. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Pajares, F., Hartley, J., & Valiante, G. (2001). Response Format in Writing Self-Efficacy Assessment: Greater Discrimination Increases Prediction. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 33(4), 214-221.

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Schunk, D. H. (1994). Student Motivation for Literacy Learning: The Role of Self-Regulatory Processes., 11pp. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New Orleans, LA, April 1994). Self-regulation refers to the process whereby students activate and sustain cognitions, behaviors, and affects, which are systematically oriented toward attainment of goals. Effective self-regulation requires that students have goals and the motivation to attain them, and maintain a sense of self-efficacy for learning and performing well. A social cognitive view of self-regulation is presented that highlights the roles of goals, progress feedback, and self- efficacy. Research is described in which elementary school children were taught to use a paragraph writing strategy and received either a process (learning) goal, a product (performance) goal, or a general goal. Some process goal students also received goal progress feedback that linked their performances to use of the writing strategy. Providing a process goal with progress feedback led to the highest levels of self-efficacy, strategy use, and writing skill. Suggestions for fostering students' motivation during classroom writing instruction are provided. (Contains 25 references.) (Author) ED367676

Schunk, D. H. (Apr 1994). Student Motivation for Literacy Learning: The Role of Self-Regulatory Processes., 11pp. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New Orleans, LA, April 1994). Self-regulation refers to the process whereby students activate and sustain cognitions, behaviors, and affects, which are systematically oriented toward attainment of goals. Effective self-regulation requires that students have goals and the motivation to attain them, and maintain a sense of self-efficacy for learning and performing well. A social cognitive view of self-regulation is presented that highlights the roles of goals, progress feedback, and self- efficacy. Research is described in which elementary school children were taught to use a paragraph writing strategy and received either a process (learning) goal, a product (performance) goal, or a general goal. Some process goal students also received goal progress feedback that linked their performances to use of the writing strategy. Providing a process goal with progress feedback led to the highest levels of self-efficacy, strategy use, and writing skill. Suggestions for fostering students' motivation during classroom writing instruction are provided. (Contains 25 references.) (Author) ED367676

Schunk, D., & Swartz, C. (1993). Goals and Progress Feedback: Effects of Self-Efficacy and Writing Achievement. Contemporary educational psychology, 18(3), 337.

Schunk, D., & Swartz, C. (1993). Writing Strategy Instruction with Gifted Students: Effects of Goals and Feedback on Self-Efficacy and Skills. Roeper review, 15(4), 225.

Shell, D. F., & And, O. (1986). Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy: Motivational Aspects of Reading and Writing Performance., 38pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference (36th, Austin, TX, December 2-6, 1986). A study examined the relationships between the motivational variables of self- efficacy (the belief that one is capable of performing effectively) and outcome expectancies (contingency or causal dependency between actions and results) and performance in reading and writing. Subjects, 153 college students, completed measures of self-efficacy for reading and writing, outcome expectancy, reading achievement, and writing achievement. Data analysis revealed that self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs are significant predictors of reading and writing performance. If persons experience reading and writing as important behaviors related to desired life goals both for themselves and for others, they will be more likely to engage in reading or writing activities and to persist in reading or writing tasks. (FL) ED278969

Shell, D. F., & And, O. (1989). Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy Mechanisms in Reading and Writing Achievement. Paper presented at the An earlier version of this paper was presented at the National Reading Conference (Austin, TX, December 3-6, 1986). A study involving 38 male and 115 female undergraduates in a teacher preparation program at a midwestern state university examined the relation between self- efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs and achievement in reading and writing. Results indicate a generalized interrelationship between said beliefs and performance for reading and writing. (TJH) EJ396048

Shell, D. F., & And, O. (Dec 1986). Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy: Motivational Aspects of Reading and Writing Performance., 38pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference (36th, Austin, TX, December 2-6, 1986). A study examined the relationships between the motivational variables of self- efficacy (the belief that one is capable of performing effectively) and outcome expectancies (contingency or causal dependency between actions and results) and performance in reading and writing. Subjects, 153 college students, completed measures of self-efficacy for reading and writing, outcome expectancy, reading achievement, and writing achievement. Data analysis revealed that self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs are significant predictors of reading and writing performance. If persons experience reading and writing as important behaviors related to desired life goals both for themselves and for others, they will be more likely to engage in reading or writing activities and to persist in reading or writing tasks. (FL) ED278969

Shell, D., Colvin, C., & Bruning, R. (1995). Self-Efficacy, Attribution, and Outcome Expectancy Mechanisms in Reading and Writing Achievement Grade-Level and Achievement-Level Differences. Journal of educational psychology, 87(3), 386.

Spaulding, C. L. (1989). The Effects of Control Opportunities and Instructional Support on High School Students' Writing Task Engagement., 36pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, CA, March 27-31, 1989). A study investigated the relative effects of ownership opportunities and instructional support on high school students' engagement with assigned writing topics. Subjects, 66 eleventh graders enrolled in five United States history classes, experienced three instructional conditions, writing on one of three topics in each one. The instructional conditions were: ownership opportunities/no instructional support; instructional support/no ownership opportunities; and ownership opportunities/instructional support. Data were also collected on students' self-efficacy, topic-knowledge organization, task-related persistence, behavior, essay characteristics, and students' responses to the instructional/writing episodes. While the results emerging from this study were highly complex, the major finding indicated the importance of instructional support in explaining the students' writing-task engagement. Students were more persistent, more reflective, expressed less self-doubt and greater interest when instructional support was high. (Two figures and four tables of data are included. Fifteen references are attached. An appendix includes the self-efficacy and student response questionnaires.) (SR) ED305640

Spaulding, C. L. (1989). The Effects of Ownership Opportunities and Instructional Support on High School Students' Writing Task Engagement. Paper presented at the Research in the Teaching of English, 23, 2, 139-62 May 1989. Investigates the differential effects of ownership opportunities and instructional support on the writing-task engagement of high school students reporting low-, mid-, and high-levels of writing self-efficacy. (RAE) EJ388594

Spaulding, C. L. (Mar 1989). The Effects of Control Opportunities and Instructional Support on High School Students' Writing Task Engagement., 36pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, CA, March 27-31, 1989). A study investigated the relative effects of ownership opportunities and instructional support on high school students' engagement with assigned writing topics. Subjects, 66 eleventh graders enrolled in five United States history classes, experienced three instructional conditions, writing on one of three topics in each one. The instructional conditions were: ownership opportunities/no instructional support; instructional support/no ownership opportunities; and ownership opportunities/instructional support. Data were also collected on students' self-efficacy, topic-knowledge organization, task-related persistence, behavior, essay characteristics, and students' responses to the instructional/writing episodes. While the results emerging from this study were highly complex, the major finding indicated the importance of instructional support in explaining the students' writing-task engagement. Students were more persistent, more reflective, expressed less self-doubt and greater interest when instructional support was high. (Two figures and four tables of data are included. Fifteen references are attached. An appendix includes the self-efficacy and student response questionnaires.) (SR) ED305640

Stanley, M. A., & Maddux, J. E. (1985). Self-Efficacy Expectancy and Depression: An Investigation of Causal Relationships., 23pp. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the Southwestern Psychological Association (31st, Austin, TX, April 18-20, 1985). Research suggests that depression is associated with low self-efficacy expectancies and that enhancement of self-efficacy expectancies may be effective in the relief of depressive symptoms. To examine the causal relationships between self-efficacy expectancies for interpersonal skills and depressed mood, two independent experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, 30 female undergraduates were led to believe that a social interaction task they would later perform was either within (high self-efficacy) or beyond (low self- efficacy) their abilities. Subjects completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist (MAACL) before and after the manipulation, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to screen out depressed individuals, and a speed-writing task. The results showed that low self-efficacy expectancies produced greater depressed mood than high self-efficacy expectancies. In the second experiment, 30 different female undergraduates followed the same procedures as in experiment 1, with the addition of a procedure that induced a temporary depressed or elated mood. Results showed that a depressed mood produced lower self-efficacy expectancies than an elated mood. These findings indicate that under some conditions changes in judgments of one's ability to perform a behavior can lead to changes in the degree of depression. (KGB) ED258105

Stanley, M. A., & Maddux, J. E. (Apr 1985). Self-Efficacy Expectancy and Depression: An Investigation of Causal Relationships., 23pp. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the Southwestern Psychological Association (31st, Austin, TX, April 18-20, 1985). Research suggests that depression is associated with low self-efficacy expectancies and that enhancement of self-efficacy expectancies may be effective in the relief of depressive symptoms. To examine the causal relationships between self-efficacy expectancies for interpersonal skills and depressed mood, two independent experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, 30 female undergraduates were led to believe that a social interaction task they would later perform was either within (high self-efficacy) or beyond (low self- efficacy) their abilities. Subjects completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist (MAACL) before and after the manipulation, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to screen out depressed individuals, and a speed-writing task. The results showed that low self-efficacy expectancies produced greater depressed mood than high self-efficacy expectancies. In the second experiment, 30 different female undergraduates followed the same procedures as in experiment 1, with the addition of a procedure that induced a temporary depressed or elated mood. Results showed that a depressed mood produced lower self-efficacy expectancies than an elated mood. These findings indicate that under some conditions changes in judgments of one's ability to perform a behavior can lead to changes in the degree of depression. (KGB) ED258105

Sumartojo, E. (1988). An Evaluation of the Houston Job Training Partnership Council's Summer Basic Training Programs for Secondary Students., 33pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New Orleans, LA, April 5-9, 1988). The Houston Job Training Partnership Council's (HJTPC) Summer Basic Training Programs consisted of eight-week summer training programs at 14 sites that were provided by six organizations under contracts. Evaluation of the program involved pre-testing and post-testing at each site on achievement in reading, mathematics, and writing; pre-testing and post-testing on self-esteem and self-efficacy; and surveying participants, teachers, and program coordinators on their assessments of the programs. A total of 1,182 participants and 47 teachers completed assessment surveys. During the subsequent school year (1986-87), 1,128 HJTPC students were tracked in terms of: course grades, course proficiency test scores, performance on the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills, school attendance, and dropout rates. Comparison data were obtained on 1,128 Houston Independent School District students. Results indicate that: (1) program providers should be required to demonstrate the adequacy of their facilities; (2) a longer planning period is needed; (3) each program site should have a coordinator; and (4) a system for receiving and reviewing complaints should be established. The HJTPC programs were not particularly effective in improving the performance or attendance of participants. However, upper-level high school students were helped by the program; they were probably motivated to complete academic requirements for graduation. (TJH) ED298139

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Tuckman, B. W., & Sexton, T. L. (1989). The Relation between Beliefs and Self-Regulated Performance., 15pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, CA, March 27-31, 1989). This study examined the connection between persistence behavior and beliefs about one's own likely or potential performance. Undergraduates (N=114) in teacher education were asked to write test items for weekly topics in a one-semester educational psychology course, based on information conveyed in lectures and text. Subjects could write as many or as few items per week as they chose for 10 weeks. Improvements in grades would be given for the number of items written relative to other subjects. Subjects were told how many points they had earned and were never told where they stood relative to others. At the start of each week, subjects estimated how many items they would write that week and how sure they were about their estimate (perceived self-efficacy), and how important it was and how likely it was that they would earn a bonus in their grade for item-writing (outcome expectations). Responses were used to classify subjects into high, medium, and low self-efficacy groups. Performance on the item-writing task was compared for the three groups over time. The results showed that those who believed they would put in effort and do the work actually did even more than they anticipated doing, while those who expected to do little actually did even less. The findings suggest that there are three distinct groups of performers who differ greatly in their persistence on a self-regulatory task. It was concluded that self-regulated performance is a legitimate motivationally based phenomenon that can be studied, and that students vary greatly in the degree to which they engage in self- regulated performace. (NB) ED306514

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Wachholz, P. B., & Etheridge, C. P. (1996). Speaking for Themselves: Writing Self-Efficacy Beliefs of High- and Low- Apprehensive Writers., 23p. A study examined differences in writing self-efficacy beliefs among high- and low- apprehensive writers. The Daly-Miller (1975a) Writing Apprehension Test was administered to 43 developmental writers in 3 freshman composition classes. Students scoring plus or minus one standard deviation from the mean for that population were selected for further study. Content analysis of writing samples identified categories students perceived as influencing their writing confidence. Finally, interviews were conducted among five high- and five low-apprehensive writers to compare writing self-efficacy beliefs and previous experiences of the two groups. Results indicated clear differences in prior writing experiences between these two groups. Findings revealed support for social cognitive theory which suggests a relationship between self-efficacy and performance. It is suggested that teachers combat students' negative self-efficacy beliefs about writing by demonstrating through words and actions the belief that students are capable of being successful writers. For example, teachers should set attainable goals and allow experimentation without evaluation. Teachers should try to create an instructional classroom climate in which students' development as writers can occur. (Contains 1 table of data and 27 references.) (Author/CR) ED403563

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Zimmerman, B. J., & Risemberg, R. (1997). Becoming a Self-Regulated Writer: A Social Cognitive Perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 22(1), 73-101(129). Becoming an adept writer involves more than knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, it depends on high levels of personal regulation because writing activities are usually self-planned, self-initiated, and self-sustained. We present a social cognitive model of writing composed of three fundamental forms of self-regulation: environmental, behavioral, and covert or personal. Each of these triadic forms of self-regulation interact reciprocally via a cyclic feedback loop through which writers self-monitor and self-react to feedback about the effectiveness of specific self-regulatory techniques or processes. Well known writers' personal descriptions of ten major self-regulatory techniques are recounted, and empirical studies demonstrating the effectiveness of these self-regulatory techniques are discussed. We conclude that writing self-regulation is a complex system of interdependent processes that are closely linked to an underlying sense of self-efficacy, and we discuss implications of the proposed model of self-regulatory processes and self-beliefs for guiding future research and developing innovative writing instruction.

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Updated: Thursday, May 23, 2002

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Additionally, while most (but not all) discriminant and convergent validity coefficients in the multitrait-multimethod matrix were in expected directions, the magnitudes were not particularly indicative of strong construct validity. For example, the monotrait-heteromethod validity diagonal consisted of.30,.39, and.42, representing 9.00%, 15.21%, and 17.64% of shared variance, respectively. These coefficients would be typically characterized as low, which is problematic given that they are expected to be the largest validity coefficients in the matrix.

Comment on Factor Retention Rules Exploratory factor analytic (EFA) strategies have dominated development of efficacy instrumentation. One critical decision, among myriad others, in EFA is how many factors to retain. This decision will affect the ultimate magnitude of the factor pattern and structure coefficients and, therefore, impacts the interpretation of extracted factors.

Bong, M. (1999). Comparison between Domain-, Task-, and Problem-Specific Academic Self- Efficacy Judgments: Their Generality and Predictive Utility for Immediate and Delayed Academic Performances. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (107th, Boston, MA, August 20-24, 1999). Academic self-efficacy beliefs of 204 Korean high school freshmen were solicited in Korean, English, and math by using (a) specific problems, (b) task descriptions, and (c) general statements referring to each domain. Regardless of the assessment specificity, self-efficacy judgments demonstrated certain degrees of generality. Cross-domain correlations were stronger with problem- and task-specific self-efficacy beliefs than with domain-specific perceptions. Magnitude of within-domain correlations between any two self-efficacy measures decreased as the difference in their measurement levels increased. Problem- and task-specific assessments seemed to instigate fairly equivalent competence appraisals, whereas domain-level measures entailed somewhat idiosyncratic estimation. Though not definitive, some evidence of the need for specificity correspondence and temporal proximity between self-efficacy and performance evaluation was found. Task- specific efficacy beliefs proved more useful compared with the other two self-efficacy measures in predicting temporally distant performances. (Contains 39 references, 4 tables, 3 figures, and 2 appendixes.) (Author) ED435080

Jenkins, J. E., Nolan, H., & Rieder, C. (1997). The Generality of Drug Resistance Self-Efficacy across Social Situations and Solitary Contexts., 19pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, March 24-28, 1997). According to a recent national survey, 9 out of 10 high school students in the United States reported that they had tried alcohol at least once. Previous research has identified drug resistance self-efficacy (DRSE) as an important construct in adolescent drug use, which is the focus of this research study. A total of 361 students in grades 9-12 completed a 121-item questionnaire which focused on their use of beer, wine coolers, liquor, and marijuana. Results indicate that adolescents' perception of their ability to resist generalizes across situations, particularly for wine coolers and liquor. As perceptions of resistance in one situation increased, perceptions of resistance in another situation also increased. However, differences were observed in the magnitude of the relationship for certain drugs, specifically beer, wine coolers, and marijuana. Analysis of results show strong intercorrelations for each drug studied among the DRSE situations. Party DRSE was the strongest predictor of DRSE in a solitary context. Different predictive models, though, were found for the high frequency beer and marijuana users with respect to DRSE in solitary/angry situations. (RJM) ED413569

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In short, self- efficacy theory is a common theme in current views of motivation (Graham & Weiner, 1996), primarily because of its predictive power and application for practically any behavioral task. This article will focus on one area of self- efficacy application directly relevant to educational improvement: teacher self- efficacy. Unfortunately, teacher efficacy research has at times been theoretically confused. In effort to advance and strengthen the study of teacher efficacy, I will (a) briefly review the theoretical foundation of teacher efficacy and critically evaluate historical attempts to measure the construct, (b) discuss important substantive implications stemming from efficacy research that may advance the field, (c) present recent measurement advances, and (d) highlight several methodologies that have been underutilized in development of teacher efficacy instruments.

Bong, M. (1998). Personal Factors Affecting the Generality of Academic Self-Efficacy Judgments: Gender, Ethnicity, and Relative Expertise. 9pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Diego, CA, April 13-17, 1998). For a related paper, see TM 028 941. The generality of academic self-efficacy judgments was compared between groups of students with different personal characteristics, using the sample drawn from a previous study (M. Bong, 1997) (n=383). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that boys demonstrated more comparable strengths of self-efficacy across the academic domains compared to girls, who distinguished between their verbal and math efficacy more clearly. Hispanic students made a clearer distinction between their Spanish efficacy and their self-efficacy in other verbal subjects compared to their non-Hispanic peers. In addition, students who belonged to advanced placement classes demonstrated more conservative generality of their academic self-efficacy judgments than those from regular classes. It appears that students make more context-specific judgments of their academic self-efficacy as they gain increased expertise in the academic domain. (Contains two figures and nine references.) (Author/SLD) ED422405

Markus, N. (2001). Geometry in the Adult Education Classroom. Math Literacy News, 10 Mar 2001 Page Length: 5. For many adults, geometry is a mathematics topic that immediately makes sense to them and gives them confidence in their ability to learn, while other adult learners identify geometry with failure. Most adults, however, do recognize the need for measurement, and many have a basic understanding of measurement concepts, although they may need to learn English measurements if they already know metric measurement. Implications for teaching and learning are the following: (1) teachers must use exact and estimated measurements to describe and compare phenomena to increase the understanding of the structure, concepts, and process of measurement; (2) teachers must address the impact of measurement skills on self-efficacy and self-reliance; (3) measurement skills should be extended to concept areas such as volume, proportion, and problem solving; (4) teachers must increase the awareness of acceptable tolerances and the consequences of being within and outside these tolerances; (5) teachers should start from the learners' strengths; and (6) hands-on problem solving and attention to development of spatial sense is necessary for learners to develop an understanding of geometric principles. This brief includes suggestions for classroom activities in measurement, perimeter and area, angles, and circles. (KC) ED450251

P______. (1991). Project 30 Year Two Report: Institutional Accomplishments. 178pp. For the year 1 report, see SP 034 168. Project 30 is a national initiative of 30 representative institutions of higher education charged with redesigning teacher education programs. Objectives include implemention of reforms that will increase the competence and authority of teachers, provide for the substantive and imaginative development of the intellect of students, and strengthen the teaching profession. This report, based on a Project 30 national conference devoted to exploring implications of the five project themes or conversations is organized into three sections: (1) Education Program Reform in Method and Content; (2) Education Program Reform in Service; and (3) Limitations and Possibilities. Section 1 focuses on: initiation of dialogue between faculty from different disciplines and departments within the institution; team formation, for work on specific projects; and curriculum reform including creation of new courses, new majors, or new requirements in an attempt to improve their teacher education programs. Section 2 reports on collaboration between colleges and universities, and improvement of mathematics and science instruction (giving specific project description) and on efforts to integrate math and science instruction. Section 3 provides reports from several schools on problems encountered and the need for understanding real limitations, constraints, and politics of reform; and recommendations for the future. The final section is an epilogue entitled "Getting beyond the Reform Slogans." Information on the institutional characteristics of each of the Project 30 team members is provided. (LL) ED355179

Ross, J. A. (1994). Effect of Feedback on Student Behavior in Cooperative Learning Groups: A Case Study of a Grade 7 Math Class. 28pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New Orleans, LA, April 4-8, 1994). Grade 7 mathematics students (n=18) were audiotaped while working in cooperative learning groups on 4 occasions over a 16 week period. After the second and third recordings, students were given edited transcripts of their discussions and were trained in how to interpret them. They used an instrument to appraise their group processes 1-2 times per week thereafter. The self-assessment had a beneficial impact on the frequency and quality of help seeking and help giving, and on student attitudes toward asking for help. The effect of the assessment procedures was attributed to three factors: (1) the feedback strengthened helpfulness norms built up in the classroom over the previous 4 months of cooperative learning implementation; (2) the feedback increased students' skill in asking for and giving help; and (3) the assessment enhanced students' self-efficacy. The paper includes the group appraisal instrument, coding scheme, and questions for comparing transcripts. Contains 65 references. (Author/MKR) ED374980

Bernard, L. C., Hutchison, S., Lavin, A., & Pennington, P. (1996). Ego-Strength, Hardiness, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Maladjustment: Health-Related Personality Constructs and the "Big Five" Model of Personality., Assessment, 3, 2, 115-31 Jun 1996. Six personality measures, measures of stress, self-reported health status and coping, and a measure of social desirability were administered to samples of college students and adults (n=589) in a series of four studies. Correlations among these measures and evidence for a higher order factor called Health Proneness factor are discussed. (SLD) EJ553129

Carter, N., & Kahn, L. (1996). See How We Grow: A Report on the Status of Parenting Education in the U.S., 121pp. Prepared by Parents, Inc. In response to increasing requests for funding of parenting education programs, The Pew Charitable Trusts funded a study to examine parenting education in the United States. This resulting report provides a general overview and highlights the "peaks and valleys, risks and opportunities" of the parenting education field. Chapter 1 of the report, "Introduction to Parenting Education," describes the growth of parenting education. Chapter 2, "Getting Grounded: Definitions," defines parenting education, family support, parent, and caregiver. Chapter 3, "Understanding Why: The Compelling Evidence," discusses the urgency of strengthening families because of demographic shifts and increases in child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, crime, and violence. Chapter 4, "The Universe of Parenting Education; A Typology," gives examples of eight types of programs, education, health care, multiple/complex needs, normative, work, special needs, research, and advocacy. Chapter 5, "Descriptive Categories for Parenting Programs," includes discussion of service delivery methods, cultural diversity efforts, and program activities. Chapter 6, "Overview of Content in Parenting Education Programs," describes the typical content of parenting education programs. Chapter 7, "Training, Shared Learning and Practitioner Support," includes inservice and preservice training, certification and standards, and infrastructure. Chapter 8, "Evaluation, Research and Accountability," examines evaluation studies and the issues involved in evaluation. Chapter 9, "Funding of Parenting Education and Family Support," identifies public and private funding sources. Chapter 10, "Review of Key Programs," describes some leading parenting programs. Chapter 11, "Parenting Education and Fathers," outlines major issues surrounding fathering programs. Chapter 12, "Parent Leadership and Advocacy Training Programs," describes programs for parent leadership and advocacy training. Chapter 13, "Conclusions," notes the growing impact of parenting education and needs within the field. (Contains 147 references.) (KB) ED412022

Gold, V., & Williams, E. (1998). The Entrepreneurial Curriculum: Rural School-Community Process for Vocational Training of Adolescents with Disabilities., 9pp. In: Coming Together: Preparing for Rural Special Education in the 21st Century. Conference Proceedings of the American Council on Rural Special Education (18th, Charleston, SC, March 25-28, 1998); see RC 021 434. Although formal vocational training in technical high schools or community-based job placements provides opportunities for adolescents with disabilities, educators need to consider a broader continuum of vocational training options for these students. Entrepreneurial options such as school-based businesses, internships, and apprenticeships may serve to remedy many of the educational, personal, and rural issues that can contribute to poor vocational preparation, a loss of autonomy, and reduced independence for disabled students. Formal entrepreneurial programs strengthen the ties between schools and community businesses, maximize use of limited community resources, and in the long run, improve students' sense of self-efficacy and personal control in their lives. However, these programs require a significant amount of skill and commitment on the part of special educators and school administrators. Two tables summarize the career education competencies students should acquire at elementary and junior high levels as a basis for entrepreneurial training during adolescence. Educational objectives and desirable economic and job-related knowledge and skills are listed for the domains of the individual, family, community, town, region, and nation at the elementary level, and for the domains of personal, business, and global economics at the junior high level. A third table summarizes objectives and skills of the entrepreneurial curriculum suggested for adolescents with disabilities. Contains 12 references. (TD) ED417899

Miller, M. (1997). Brainstyles: Change Your Life without Changing Who You Are., 385p. Based on the idea that an individual's "brainstyle" is a particular set of gifts, this self-help book shows the reader that by understanding how the brainstyle mandates decisions, a person can deliver his or her best in any relationship. The book illustrates with case histories of people who used the brainstyle system to change their lives without changing themselves. Chapter 1 asks some personal questions to activate thought about the need for change; Chapter 2 introduces some research on what to do instead of trying to be perfect. Chapters 3 through 6 describe four core strengths, the brainstyles; Chapter 7 is a brainstyles self test. Chapter 8 tells how to apply brainstyles to create synergy in relationships with anyone anywhere; Chapter 9 provides some tools to transform an individual's relationship with him/herself, with "enemies," and with colleagues at work. Appendix A contains "Brain-Based Aptitudes"; Appendix B contains "The Brainstyle Inventory Scoring Interpretation and Discussion"; Appendix C contains "Technical Report: Construct Validation of a New Measure of Brainstyles"; Appendix D contains "BrainstylesMyers-Briggs Relationships Report, January 1995"; Appendix E contains additional worksheets. (NKA) ED415491

Sternberg, R. J. (1996). IQ Counts, but What Really Counts Is Successful Intelligence., NASSP Bulletin, 80, 583, 18-23 Nov 1996. Distinct from academic intelligence, successful intelligence is the acquisition and use of what one must know to succeed in a particular environment. People with high successful intelligence know their own strengths and weaknesses; are goal- oriented, highly motivated, and efficacious; follow through; own and assume responsibility for their own problems; and translate thought into action. (MLH) EJ535650

Talley, R. C. (1996). Excellence, Relevance, and Passion: The Motive Power for Indispensability., 6pp. In: Making Psychologists in Schools Indispensable: Critical Questions and Emerging Perspectives. Greensboro, NC. ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse, 1996., 35-39; see CG 027 464. Psychologists learn early that the first place it is necessary to establish consistency of values is within the self. This foundation is a necessary condition to becoming an indispensable psychologist. Three ingredients to professional indispensability in psychology are excellence, relevance, and passion. Combine these with motive power (the drive to act in a manner consistent with internal values and standards) and one forms the indispensable psychologist. For psychologists, excellence may be defined as the possession of knowledge in combination with the well-refined abilities to apply scientifically sound theories and interventions in schools and communities as well as with students, school personnel, and parents. Life-long learning, referral skills, and teaming are all part of excellence. Relevance refers to the degree of fit between what school psychologists do well and what is needed by consumers of services. Indispensable psychologists, who strive to provide relevance and excellence, desire and need the color that passion brings to their life work. Passion is an essential ingredient to great actions, which may take many forms. Motive power is the ability to combine excellence, relevance, and passion into action. Motive power indicates the ability to move, and to act with strength and conviction based on abilities, standards, and values. (JBJ) ED406597

Tsutsumi, T. (1997). The effects of strength training on mood, self-efficacy, cardiovascular reactivity and quality of life in older adults. EdD 1997 ts

Weber, B. J., & Omotani, L. M. (1994). The Power of Believing., Executive Educator, 16, 9, 35-38 Sep 1994. Research suggests that, when teachers believe they can influence student learning, they usually do. Low-efficacy teachers blame failure on students' family background and motivation, deprecate low achievers, and stratify their classrooms according to ability. Teacher self-efficacy can be strengthened by improving teacher socialization procedures, reducing beginning teachers' responsibilities, fostering collegial relationships, and designing appropriate evaluation systems. (MLH) EJ489345

Brown, K. M., & Anfara, V. A. (2002). The walls of division crumble as ears, mouths, minds and hearts open: a unified profession of middle-level administrators and teachers. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 5(1), 33-49(17). This research is dedicated to tearing down the hierarchical walls of administration and unifying the profession of school leaders and teachers. Data for this qualitative study of middle-level principals were collected from 72 surveys and 17 semi-structured interviews. The analysis introduces the middle school principal as a partner in this collaborative attempt to improve schools for students. They recognize the need for the bureaucratic walls of administrative construction to crumble and give way to professional autonomy, teacher efficacy and supportive environments that enhance teacher commitment and expertise. Through open doors, open ears, open mouths, open minds and open hearts, middle school principals are able to build effectively the necessary support for change. They are present and available, they listen attentively, they communicate appreciation and support, they collaborate and share decision making and, above all, obviously they enjoy what they are doing. The positive characteristics of these middle school leaders pave the way for the walls of division to crumble, and the call for a unified profession to strengthen.

Cavanaugh, R. F., & Dellar, G. B. (1997). Towards a Model of School Culture., 21pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, March 24-28, 1997). In recent times, sociological constructs have been used to examine school culture, viewing schools as learning communities rather than formal organizations. This paper describes use of the School Cultural Elements Questionnaire (SCEQ) to investigate the culture of schools in Western Australia. The SCEQ was first administered to 422 teachers in 8 Western Australian schools; 1 year later, it was administered to 146 teachers in 3 secondary schools. Teachers in two of the secondary schools were also interviewed. Data were used to develop the School Improvement Model of School Culture, which depicts the relationships among the six cultural elements and their effect on the overall school culture. The six elements that affect school improvement include teacher efficacy, an emphasis on learning, collegiality, collaboration, shared planning, and transformational leadership. The model views school culture as an open-systems structure in which an equilibrium is maintained between interactive internal elements and external factors. The model embodies some of the following propositions: (1) School culture is composed of cultural elements; (2) cultural elements facilitate cultural maintenance and growth; (3) cultural elements are vehicles for improving the effectiveness of schools; (4) cultural growth and school improvement occur when the cultural elements are well developed; (5) strong cultures are resilient when subject to external pressures; (6) weak cultures are inherently unstable and can be further destabilized or strengthened when subject to external pressures; and (7) successful school improvement is dependent on utilization of culturally oriented planning and implementation strategies. (Contains 23 references.) (LMI) ED408687

Corcoran, T. B., & Wilson, B. L. (1986). The Search for Successful Secondary Schools: The First Three Years of the Secondary School Recognition Program., 175p. The 571 secondary schools selected by the United States Department of Education for recognition as exemplary institutions represented urban, suburban and rural communities. The proportions of minority students were not markedly different from the national distribution, nor did the socio-economic status of families with students differ greatly from national statistics. Outstanding characteristics of these schools included: (1) they tended to have larger enrollments than secondary schools in the nation as a whole; (2) there were almost as many newly appointed principals as experienced principals in the schools; (3) there were no significant increases in graduation requirements; (4) none of the schools reported attendance below 90 percent; and (5) more schools encouraged students to pursue higher education than high schools nationally. The recognized schools had unusual strengths in the areas of: (1) student discipline; (2) extracurricular participation; (3) recognition of student behavior and performance; (4) school climate; (5) rates of student and teacher attendance; (6) attention to academic learning time; (7) teacher efficacy; and (8) community support. This report presents an overview of the Secondary School Recognition Program and discusses the characteristics of the selected schools and the attributes and dynamics of their successful programs, as well as the challenges they represent for educational policymakers in raising the standards and performance of secondary schools nationwide. (JD) ED275679

Engel, M. F., & Sawyer, T. M. (1983). Contractual Revision., 18pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (34th, Detroit, MI, March 17-19, 1983). Contractual revision promotes cooperation between teachers and tutors and, being student initiated, provides a method to increase student control over the revision process and encourage students to communicate their strengths and weaknesses in writing to their teachers or tutors. The contractual revision process requires students to form contracts specifying what methods they will employ to eliminate identified weaknesses from future writing. In these contracts the students reveal much about their understanding, or perhaps their misunderstanding, of language "rules" and consequently much about the efficacy of an instructor's own grading and evaluation criteria. While many students remain at a very mechanically oriented level of revision, a few begin to review their writing creatively, seeing the possibilities of communicating through writing, and recognizing that they can revise to say what they mean to say, and review to achieve an accurate, critical assessment of what they have said. Instructors and peer tutors provide in-progress feedback, which is much more conducive to substantive revision than student reworking of already graded essays. The contractual revision program eliminates the frustrations of an ad hoc tutoring program with irregular attendance while allowing the tutor to work closely and regularly enough to effect real student progress. (HTH) ED234415

Goddard, R. D., & Goddard, Y. L. (2001). A multilevel analysis of the relationship between teacher and collective efficacy in urban schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(7), 807-818(812). Although a great deal of research has linked both teacher and collective efficacy to student achievement, one overlooked question concerns the nested association between teacher and collective efficacy. The authors apply social cognitive theory to offer a theoretical analysis of this relationship. Next, using hierarchical linear modeling, they empirically test the strength of the relationship between these two theoretically related yet conceptually distinct constructs. Analysis of data collected from 438 teachers in 47 schools in a large urban school district shows that collective efficacy predicts variation in teacher efficacy above and beyond the variance explained by a number of school contextual factors including socioeconomic status and student achievement. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

generality

-- generality

However, Lent and Hackett (1987) cautioned that specificity and precision may reduce result generalizability. In response to this potentiality, Pajares (1997) noted: Judgments of competence need not be so microscopically operationalized that their assessment loses all sense of practical utility. Domain specificity should not be misconstrued as extreme situational specificity, and there is no need to reduce efficacy assessments to atomistic proportions. (p. 13) Furthermore, Bandura (1997) argued that transfer of efficacy judgments is possible, and noted that "the level of generality of the efficacy items within a given domain of functioning varies depending on the degree of situational resemblance and foreseeability of task demands" (p. 13).

Bong, M. (1998). Effects of Scale Differences on the Generality of Academic Self-Efficacy Judgments., 11pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Diego, CA, April 13-17, 1998). For a related paper, see TM 028 967. Two of the most widely used academic self-efficacy assessment techniques, problem-referenced measurement and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) were compared. Participants were 383 high school students from 4 Los Angeles (California) schools. Multi-trait multi-method analyses revealed that the two techniques were not measuring exactly the same thing. In particular, students' responses became more uniform in each school subject as the assessment procedures referred to more global events than specific problems. The two techniques also differed in generality. The relationship between students' verbal and mathematics self-efficacy perceptions was noticeably stronger with the problem-referenced technique than with the MSLQ. (Contains one table, three figures, and six references.) (Author/SLD) ED422379

Bong, M. (1998). Personal Factors Affecting the Generality of Academic Self-Efficacy Judgments: Gender, Ethnicity, and Relative Expertise. 9pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Diego, CA, April 13-17, 1998). For a related paper, see TM 028 941. The generality of academic self-efficacy judgments was compared between groups of students with different personal characteristics, using the sample drawn from a previous study (M. Bong, 1997) (n=383). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that boys demonstrated more comparable strengths of self-efficacy across the academic domains compared to girls, who distinguished between their verbal and math efficacy more clearly. Hispanic students made a clearer distinction between their Spanish efficacy and their self-efficacy in other verbal subjects compared to their non-Hispanic peers. In addition, students who belonged to advanced placement classes demonstrated more conservative generality of their academic self-efficacy judgments than those from regular classes. It appears that students make more context-specific judgments of their academic self-efficacy as they gain increased expertise in the academic domain. (Contains two figures and nine references.) (Author/SLD) ED422405

Bong, M. (1999). Comparison between Domain-, Task-, and Problem-Specific Academic Self- Efficacy Judgments: Their Generality and Predictive Utility for Immediate and Delayed Academic Performances. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (107th, Boston, MA, August 20-24, 1999). Academic self-efficacy beliefs of 204 Korean high school freshmen were solicited in Korean, English, and math by using (a) specific problems, (b) task descriptions, and (c) general statements referring to each domain. Regardless of the assessment specificity, self-efficacy judgments demonstrated certain degrees of generality. Cross-domain correlations were stronger with problem- and task-specific self-efficacy beliefs than with domain-specific perceptions. Magnitude of within-domain correlations between any two self-efficacy measures decreased as the difference in their measurement levels increased. Problem- and task-specific assessments seemed to instigate fairly equivalent competence appraisals, whereas domain-level measures entailed somewhat idiosyncratic estimation. Though not definitive, some evidence of the need for specificity correspondence and temporal proximity between self-efficacy and performance evaluation was found. Task- specific efficacy beliefs proved more useful compared with the other two self-efficacy measures in predicting temporally distant performances. (Contains 39 references, 4 tables, 3 figures, and 2 appendixes.) (Author) ED435080

Bong, M. (1997). Congruence of Measurement Specificity on Relations between Academic Self- Efficacy, Effort, and Achievement Indexes., 13pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, March 24-28, 1997). Students are often evaluated on the basis of their aggregate or average performance on diverse tasks in each school subject. When the target of prediction is such global measures as course grades, academic self-efficacy, too, should be able to reflect equivalent scope and generality to maximize its predictive utility. Academic self-efficacy in the present study was assessed as either confidence ratings toward samples of problems typically performed in each school subject or responses on the self-efficacy scale of the Motivated Learning Strategies Questionnaire (MSLQ), which asks for students' overall academic confidence in a given domain without making any explicit reference to individual tasks. Participants (588 high school students) reported both types of efficacy in English, Spanish, American history, algebra, geometry, and chemistry. Results show that, in general, relations of the MSLQ self-efficacy results to effort and grades are stronger than those of the problem-referenced efficacy. It is interesting to note that predictive superiority of the MSLQ scale is more predominant in verbal subjects than in quantitative domains. It is concluded that relationships between academic self-efficacy and outcome measures would be less influenced by the specificity mismatch in subject matters that are clearly definable in terms of the skills and tasks performed. (Contains two figures and eight references.) (Author/SLD) ED411261

Bong, M. (1997). Generality of Academic Self-Efficacy Judgments: Evidence of Hierarchical Relations., Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 4, 696-709 Dec 1997. The generality of academic self-efficacy judgments was examined among 588 high school students who rated their confidence for problem solving. A first-order model with a separate self-efficacy factor for each school subject displayed the best fit, so that verbal and quantitative self-efficacy were more meaningful than general academic self-efficacy. (SLD) EJ560302

Jenkins, J. E., Nolan, H., & Rieder, C. (1997). The Generality of Drug Resistance Self-Efficacy across Social Situations and Solitary Contexts., 19pp. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, March 24-28, 1997). According to a recent national survey, 9 out of 10 high school students in the United States reported that they had tried alcohol at least once. Previous research has identified drug resistance self-efficacy (DRSE) as an important construct in adolescent drug use, which is the focus of this research study. A total of 361 students in grades 9-12 completed a 121-item questionnaire which focused on their use of beer, wine coolers, liquor, and marijuana. Results indicate that adolescents' perception of their ability to resist generalizes across situations, particularly for wine coolers and liquor. As perceptions of resistance in one situation increased, perceptions of resistance in another situation also increased. However, differences were observed in the magnitude of the relationship for certain drugs, specifically beer, wine coolers, and marijuana. Analysis of results show strong intercorrelations for each drug studied among the DRSE situations. Party DRSE was the strongest predictor of DRSE in a solitary context. Different predictive models, though, were found for the high frequency beer and marijuana users with respect to DRSE in solitary/angry situations. (RJM) ED413569

Bong, M. (1999). Comparison between Domain-, Task-, and Problem-Specific Academic Self- Efficacy Judgments: Their Generality and Predictive Utility for Immediate and Delayed Academic Performances. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (107th, Boston, MA, August 20-24, 1999). Academic self-efficacy beliefs of 204 Korean high school freshmen were solicited in Korean, English, and math by using (a) specific problems, (b) task descriptions, and (c) general statements referring to each domain. Regardless of the assessment specificity, sel