Asked 391 students to provide 3 types of mathematics self-efficacy judgments. Students' reported confidence to answer the problems they were later asked to solve proved a more powerful predictor of that performance than either their confidence to perform math-related tasks or to succeed in math-related courses. (RJM)

Examined whether global academic self-concept and academic self-efficacy beliefs that vary in domain specificity/globality represent distinct or common underlying dimensions. Results based on 205 university students revealed that each of the variables represented separate, though related, latent dimensions of self-perception. Implications for…

Study evaluates the effects of both performance accomplishment and vicarious learning experiences on the math/science self-efficacy and career interests, goals, and actions of career-undecided college students. Undergraduate participants were assigned one of four treatment conditions for the study. Theoretical and counseling implications of the…

Tested path models of academic interest and performance that were derived from social-cognitive theory. Results supported a model in which ability helps determine self-efficacy. Findings suggest that social-cognitive theory helps explain the academic behavior of high school students that can be key to their later career options. (RJM)

The math-related interests and academic-choice intentions of black college students (N=164) are explored. A social cognitive path model offered good overall fit to the data. Although racial identity contributed little to the model, self-efficacy and outcome expectations predicted interests, which predicted choice intentions across racial attitude…