Linking Female College Students’ Causal Attribution Habits, Cultural Orientation, and Self-Efficacy: A Study on Cross-National Differences

Kerstin Hamann,Maura A E Pilotti,Bruce M Wilson,Ronan L H Wilson

doi:10.3390/su14031561

Abstract

The present research concerns the extent to which explanations for desirable or undesirable academic outcomes (grades) as well as cultural orientation could account for self-efficacy beliefs of female undergraduate students from two societies with dissimilar cultural traditions. The United States of America (U.S.) was selected for its individualistic culture, whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was chosen for its mix of traditional collectivist and individualistic values. A matched-pairs design ensured that students’ self-efficacy levels were equated between cultural groups (n = 560; 280 matched pairs). The research uncovered cultural differences in the choice of explanations and in the extent to which explanations might contribute to self-efficacy beliefs. These findings represent a blueprint for informing instructional interventions intended to effectively prepare students from different cultures for academic success.

Highlights

Rodríguez-García, María-NataliaThe United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) list “inclusive and equitable quality education” as part of Goal #4, Education
SEM is reported to provide a measure of the extent to which individual sample means estimate the mean of the population to which they belong (i.e., SD divided by the square root of the sample size)
The present study investigated whether explanations for desirable and undesirable outcomes as well as cultural orientation might account for the self-efficacy of U.S and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) students differently

Summary

Introduction

Rodríguez-García, María-NataliaThe United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) list “inclusive and equitable quality education” as part of Goal #4, Education. Targets and indicators include the elimination of gender disparities in education (Target 4.5), “global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity” (Target 4.7), and effective learning environments (Target 4.a) [1]. To accomplish this goal, it is paramount to further our understanding of the role of cultural differences in college students’ learning experiences. The present study contributes to this understanding by analyzing the extent to which, and how, explanations for good and poor academic outcomes and cultural orientation account for the self-efficacy beliefs of female undergraduate students from two societies with dissimilar cultural traditions, the United States of American and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Its findings are important for guiding pedagogical approaches that can effectively prepare students from varied cultural backgrounds for a successful college experience

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Conclusion