Self-efficacy refers to convict ions held by individuals about their capability to execute behaviors required to bring about a desired outcome. Academic self-efficacy, in particular, has been receiving considerable attention due to its direct impact o...
Self-efficacy refers to convict ions held by individuals about their capability to execute behaviors required to bring about a desired outcome. Academic self-efficacy, in particular, has been receiving considerable attention due to its direct impact on the quality and quantity of effort student s invest in learning, which, in turn, influence their academic achievement. The present study investigated the generalizability of academic self-efficacy perceptions among 588 student s from 4 high schools in Los Angeles County, California. The results demonstrated that students`` judgment s of their own academic self-efficacy prevailed over the boundaries of specific tasks and also of school subjects, albeit to a lesser degree. Such generalizability of academic self-efficacy, in part, depended on the degree of perceived similarity among academic tasks. More specifically, student s reported perceiving greater similarity among quantitative subject s (i.e., algebra, geometry, and chemistry) than among verbal subje.