AN INVESTIGATION OF 10th GRADE STUDENTS’ SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS IN MATHEMATICS

Abstract

The core of the survey was to investigate Mathematics self-efficacy of those students who study at 10th grade. Overall, 245 students of grade 10 were engaged as respondents of this survey. To evoke efficacious inclination of students, a translated version (Urdu) of “Sources of Mathematics self-efficacy Scale” originally developed by Lopez and his associates (1991) was administered which presented the items on five levels based on Likert type entailing 40 statements of efficacy indicating its four emerging dimensions as “Performance Accomplishment, Vicarious Information, Verbal Persuasion and Emotional Arousal”. Using SPSS for the analysis of data, both descriptive (mean, standard deviation) and inferential (t-test) statistics were used. It was inferred from the overall analysis that the four self-efficacy sources were positively effecting the self-efficacy beliefs of students in Mathematics. However, boys are more influenced by the knowledge they get on their successful completion of task. They also enjoy comparing themselves with other peers. On the other hand, when girls are verbally encouraged, they feel confident while they also feel more anxiety as compared to boys. Sector was difference was also significant as students of public sector schools feel confident over successful completion of task that they can do well in future because they performed it in past with precision while students of private sector schools were more confident on influential effects by rest of the sources. In short, students found to be efficacious and all factors or sources contributed in making their mind set to be more efficacious to deal with Mathematics although with varying degree. Now it is the responsibility of teachers of Mathematics to come forward to provide them such activities that may involve them more in advanced level learning of Mathematics and help them in coping this subject in a more successful manner. In this way, self-efficacy can be a strong predictor of their academic gains. Efficacy in Mathematics cannot be differentiated on gender basis as it is a myth that boys always have natural inclination and therefore their self-efficacy beliefs are high than girls