Producing confident learners using specific tasks, competent models, and credible messages

Abstract

ABSTRACT Of his numerous contributions, Albert Bandura’s introduction of the self-efficacy construct is arguably the most notable one. The primary aim of this article is to illustrate why it is so critically important to arm students with strong self-efficacy beliefs and how parents and teachers can achieve that goal. We begin with a brief overview of the self-efficacy construct, describing the unique features that distinguish it from other self-beliefs such as self-concept. We highlight that self-efficacy is an inherently context-specific construct distinct from vague impressions and broad generalizations about one’s competencies, and it is this context-specificity that affords self-efficacy with the unparalleled predictive utility of subsequent achievements. Next, we introduce scientifically validated practices of producing confident learners such as guiding them to appraise their confidence toward specific tasks and goals, exposing them to competent models, and providing them with credible social messages, consistent with Bandura’s tenets on major sources of self-efficacy information.