An Assessment of Bridging Program Participants’ Sources of Academic Self-Efficacy at a Regional Australian University

Debra Ann Metcalf,Karl Kilian Konrad Wiener

doi:10.22158/wjer.v8n1p51

Abstract

Academic bridging and other remedial programs are designed to maximize outcomes for all students and are designed around an inclusive framework which targets the most disadvantaged or at need students. This study questions the validity of this practice through an evaluation of Bandura’s sources of academic self-efficacy for bridging program participants within two distinct cohorts, first-in-family and non-first-in-family students. The study comprised students at a regional Australian university (N=1806) which prides itself on high rates of first generation student enrolment. Data was analyzed using SPSS® software to construct regression analyses for each cohort and determine for each which of Bandura’s sources of academic self-efficacy predicted current academic self-efficacy. For both first-in-family and non-first-in-family students who did not participate in bridging programs, all four of Bandura’s sources of academic self-efficacy were significant predictors of current academic self-efficacy. For first-in-family students who participated in bridging programs, vicarious learning did not significantly predict academic self-efficacy. For non-first-in-family students who participated in bridging programs, mastery experience and social persuasion did not predict academic self-efficacy. Some suggestions for the disparity between the results for bridging program participants and the bulk of accepted literature are offered as are some implications for bridging program pedagogy.

Highlights

Academic educational bridging programs are designed to maximise outcomes for students across a disadvantaged student cohort (Neiterman et al, 2018; Whannell et al, 2010)
Participants were divided into the following groups (Group 1, First-in-family students who had participated in bridging programs; Group 2, First-in-family students who had not participated in bridging programs; Group 3, Non-first-in-family students who had participated in bridging programs; and Group 4, Non-first-in-family students who had not participated in bridging programs)
For all students who did not participate in bridging programs, all four of the empirically supported sources of Academic Self-Efficacy (ASE) were found to contribute to ASE

Summary

Introduction

Academic educational bridging programs are designed to maximise outcomes for students across a disadvantaged student cohort (Neiterman et al, 2018; Whannell et al, 2010). Wang and Castaneda-Sound (2008) found FIF students scored significantly lower on academic self-efficacy than their non-FIF counterparts and attributed this to lower perceived social support and the internalisation of conflicting loyalties and values They encouraged further research on generational status and psychosocial factors, which had utility for educational counsellors and university personnel. First-in-family students are reported to study fewer hours, take fewer advanced subjects, and be less likely to aspire to participation in honours programs (Ramos-Sanchez & Nichols, 2007) It has been suggested by other researchers that it is a disparity in perceptions, rather than exposure to different environmental stimuli, that results in lower academic self-efficacy (Chiu, 2012; Wiederkehr et al, 2015)

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Results

Conclusion