Abstract
<p style="text-align:justify">Self-efficacy and critical thinking represent two vital components for university graduates in the 21st century learning. However, several studies reported that these two important outcome predictors were unsatisfactory. This study aimed at investigating the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and critical thinking. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design was utilized. A total of 44 pre-service elementary school teachers (aged 19-22) at a private university in Indonesia were assigned as experimental (<em>n</em> = 22) and control (<em>n</em> = 22) groups. The experimental group learning received PBL, while the control group learning with traditional college instruction. The Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) and the Critical Thinking Questionnaire (CTQ) were administered before and after the intervention in both groups. Independent and paired samples t-tests were employed to analyze the pretests and posttests data. The results indicated that PBL was more effective in increasing self-efficacy and critical thinking of pre-service elementary teachers than traditional teaching. It is suggested that PBL should be used more frequently in science learning to further enhance students’ self-efficacy and critical thinking skills in higher education.</p>
Highlights
Nowadays, self-efficacy and critical thinking play an important role in supporting academic achievement in higher education and achieving success in the workplace. Bandura (1977, 1986) defined self-efficacy as one’s belief in own ability to successfully carry out the desired action
This study aims at investigating the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) on self-efficacy and critical thinking skills of pre-service elementary school teachers
Descriptive statistics related to the mean scores of pretest and posttest for self-efficacy are presented in Tables 2 and 3
Summary
Self-efficacy and critical thinking play an important role in supporting academic achievement in higher education and achieving success in the workplace. Bandura (1977, 1986) defined self-efficacy as one’s belief in own ability to successfully carry out the desired action. Previous studies reported that academic self-efficacy of students is in the average range (Chemers et al, 2001; Thompson & Verdino, 2018), it needs to be increased to a satisfactory level. Self-efficacy is an essential psychological factor influencing achievement, academic motivation, persistence, learning success, and future career choice (Schunk, 1989; Thompson & Verdino, 2018; Webb-Williams, 2018). In another study, Alhadabi and Karpinski (2019) associated low self-efficacy with dishonest academic behavior. This reflects that the experiences of preservice teachers influence their self-efficacy beliefs, providing an active learning environment is considered an appropriate way to increase the self-efficacy of graduates (Sahin-Taskin, 2018). It is important for educators to promote students’ self-efficacy (Wahyudiati et al, 2020) using effective teaching strategies
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