The Effectiveness of Applying the Habits of Mind Approach on Developing Female Fifth Graders’ Reading Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Self-efficacy, which refers to one’s own capabilities to perform a task successfully, has been found to be a significant predictor of various educational achievements. The current study emphasizes the role of self-efficacy in the context of reading, highlighting that students’ beliefs about their reading abilities can significantly shape their motivation and performance in reading. Consequently, unsuccessful outcomes in reading may not necessarily result from a lack of skills or knowledge but rather from a deficiency in the self-efficacy beliefs needed to apply those skills effectively (Carroll & Fox, 2017). Considering the narrow scope of research on reading self-efficacy, this quasi-experimental study aimed to extend previous work by exploring how reading self-efficacy changes among female fifth-grade students through a nine-week Habits of Mind (HoM) program. This program specifically targeted the four primary sources of information that affect reading self-efficacy: progress, observational comparison, social feedback, and physiological states. Participants comprised 66 female fifth-grade students from a public elementary school, split into an experimental group of 33 who participated in the HoM program and a control group of 33 students adhering to the standard curriculum. The findings indicate that participants in the HoM program reported significantly higher reading self-efficacy levels in four sources of reading self-efficacy compared to those in the control group. Results also indicated that the improvements in reading self-efficacy and its four foundational factors, attained through implementing the HoM program, were either sustained or experienced further growth over time. We recommend that this approach might help students develop a lifelong passion for reading, along with the confidence they need to overcome reading challenges.