Perceived self-efficacy and technology proficiency in undergraduate college students

Abstract

Technology has become an integral part of the world in which we live. Today's undergraduate college students have extensive exposure to technology in all aspects of their lives, so educators would expect all students to be technologically proficient. However many people do not easily gain proficiency with computer technologies. The ability to master a skill can be examined as self-efficacy. Self-efficacy provides a mechanism to explain individual behavior and may be defined as a person's perceived capability to perform a behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self- efficacy and technological proficiency. This was a descriptive survey using the General Self-Efficacy Scale and a technology proficiency tool developed by the researcher. A small sample of undergraduate college students was surveyed to determine if the use of a computer at home, age, and levels of self-efficacy influenced technological proficiency. The results of this study indicate that the use of a computer at home is related to enhanced computer skills and respondents with a computer at home had increased self-efficacy. Additionally, students in the 18-25 age group reported higher levels of technological proficiency and self-efficacy.