Problem-solving Self-efficacy Research Articles

Addressing ecoparalysis: a community-engaged unit enhances undergraduate student environmental value and problem-solving self-efficacy

Undergraduates often express that they feel powerless to help solve important challenges such as climate change and environmental degradation, consistent with the broader phenomena of ecoparalysis. Viewed through value-expectancy frameworks for motivation, value for an outcome and self-efficacy to achieve it lead to goals, which motivate engagement. This study evaluates the impact of a community-engaged course unit, versus a unit without a community-engaged component, in a general-education university environmental science course in the United States on student expressions of environmental value, self-efficacy, and goals. Qualitative analysis of written reflections reveals enhancements in students’ pro-environmental values, environmental problem-solving self-efficacy, and environmentally-related goals. Paired quantitative analysis comparing code frequencies in reflections (n = 37) show statistically significant enhancements in environmental value (p = .00013, Cohen’s d = 0.930) and self-efficacy (p = .00082, d = 0.807). These outcomes suggest community-engaged coursework can help reduce students’ ecoparalysis and motivate them to engage in pro-environmental action beyond the bounds of the course.

The Future Orientation of Italian Adolescents in Post-Pandemic Times: Associations with Self-Efficacy and Perceived Academic Achievement

Future orientation refers to an individual’s conscious portrayal of upcoming events, encompassing thoughts, motivations, and emotions. Research on future orientation has primarily focused on adolescents due to their perceived necessity to prepare for adulthood. To investigate the hopes and fears of Italian adolescents in post-pandemic times, as well as age and gender differences and the associations between future orientation, self-efficacy, and perceived academic achievement, a survey was conducted with 388 Italian high school students. The Future Orientation and Life Course Prospective Questionnaires, along with the Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy Scale, were administered. Data analysis involved content analysis of hopes and fears, as well as statistical methods (t-tests, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis) were employed. A greater number of fears than hopes were mentioned. Age differences were marginal. Compared with males, females expressed a greater number of hopes and fears and provided more detailed insights into their fears within the domains of higher education, self, and the general existential category. As expected, positive and modest correlations were observed between future orientation, self-efficacy, and academic achievement. Notably, self-efficacy and work/career future orientation were found to predict academic achievement. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance for school educational programs.

Assessment of Social Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy of Freshmen Engineering Students

Abstract—This paper presents an instrument designed to assess the Social Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy of freshmen engineering students. This instrument included 34 items and comprised of 5-dimensions: rational problem solving (RPO), positive problem orientation (PPO), avoidance style (AS), negative problem orientation (NPO) and impulsivity or carelessness style (ICS). This instrument was administered in the fall 2019 to freshmen engineering students at a large private southern Indian university. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 4-factors: positive approach towards problems (PAP), AS, NPO and ICS. For these 4-factors, Cronbach’s alpha ranged between 0.63 to 0.87. t-test was conducted on the 4-factors to find the differences related to gender, background, and prior experience. For PAP, participants with prior experience reported higher self-efficacy than the participants without experience. For AS and NPO, participants without prior experience reported higher self-efficacy than the participants with experience. However, there were no significant difference on the four factors with respect to gender and background. Keywords—exploratory factor analysis; freshmen engineering; self-efficacy; social problem-solving; survey instrument

Problem çözmeye yönelik öz-yeterlik ölçeği geliştirme çalışması

The primary goal of education is to help people become better problem solvers by utilizing their thinking and mental abilities. As a result, affective factors should be considered in addition to cognitive factors. Self-efficacy is one of these affective factors. Self-efficacy refers to people's beliefs about their skills to perform a task and succeed by organizing necessary activities. In this case, problem-solving self-efficacy is defined as one's belief in one's own ability to deal with problems patiently. In this study, we aimed to develop a scale to measure problem-solving self-efficacies. The study was executed according to scale development stages. Data were collected from 422 eighth-grade students in Turkey's public middle schools to develop and validate the scale. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the scale's factor structure and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the resulting structure. In addition, item analysis of the scale items was executed. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, it was seen that the scale had two factors. However, according to the confirmatory factor analysis, it was determined that all values provided a good or perfect fit. Furthermore, Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the entire scale was 0.91; for subfactors, 0.88 and 0.87, respectively, indicating that the scale is highly reliable. A high validity and reliability scale was eventually developed to determine problem-solving self-efficacy. Studies in the literature show that students' self-efficacy is related to their problem-solving skills. Therefore, we propose additional research to investigate the developed scale's effect on students while considering demographic factors.

Self-efficacy in life skills and satisfaction among adolescents in school transitions.

Life skills, according to the World Health Organization, can promote youth well-being through educational school programs. Among life skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills can help adolescents consciously choose their career path.The Italian school system, in fact, requires students, already at a young age (13-14 years old) to make important decisions about their future, like for example choosing the high school that they would like to attend. This study aims to analyze differences in decision-making, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction in a sample of adolescents in secondary school in Italy. It aims to analyze whether there are differences in those dimensions according to students' age, gender, regularity, and future choice intentions. Here we present a cross-sectional study involving 2104 students, balanced by gender, and attending upper secondary school in Italy. Participants completed Soresi and Nota's questionnaires on life satisfaction and Caprara's questionnaire on problem-solving self-efficacy. The data were processed using MANOVA. Research results show significant differences in self-efficacy and school satisfaction in relation to the age at which school transition occurred. Specifically, incoming preadolescents (13-14 years old) scored lower than outgoing late adolescents (17-18 years old) in both decision-making self-efficacy and school satisfaction. Girls scored lower than boys in decision-making self-efficacy. Students who expressed the intention to drop out of school scored lowest on both the self-efficacy and perceived support satisfaction scales. The results highlight the importance of promoting the development of self-efficacy in life skills and school satisfaction to help students in school transitions.

An Investigation of Affective Factors Influencing Computational Thinking and Problem-Solving

This study investigated the effects of affective factors on computational thinking and problem-solving. Computer science subjects are becoming part of the regular curricula in K-12 and higher education to enhance computational problem-solving skills. However, affective factors influencing computational thinking skills and computational thinking components predicting problem-solving skills have yet to be fully explored. This paper proposed a conceptual model to predict (a) four affective factors that influence computational thinking self-efficacy and (b) six computational thinking components that affect problem-solving self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze self-report data from college students to examine the direct relationships among study variables. The findings showed that two affective factors (i.e., programming self-efficacy and computer science usefulness) significantly predicted computational thinking self-efficacy and influenced problem-solving self-efficacy. Also, two computational thinking components (i.e., algorithm and debugging) were the significant determinants of problem-solving self-efficacy. The results validate the importance of affective factors in computer science education and suggest specific computational thinking activities that should be emphasized in computer science curricula to facilitate problem-solving skills.

The Role of Adaptive Scaffolding System in Supporting Middle School Problem-Based Learning Activities

This mixed-method study introduced an adaptive scaffolding system to support middle school science problem-based learning (PBL) activities. 298 6th-graders were grouped into three conditions, which are the adaptive scaffolding group, the non-adaptive scaffolding group, and a control group that did not receive any scaffoldings. Results showed that problem-solving self-efficacy for students who engaged with the adaptive scaffolding system had improved significantly compared to the other two groups. Moreover, since students were conducting the PBL activity under two modes (online and in-person), the results also showed that students in the online mode gained more science content knowledge compared to their peers in the in-person mode after engaging with the adaptive system. Student interviews revealed that the real-time supports and in-time feedback provided by the adaptive system were the key elements that facilitated their improvements, teacher interviews presented that the adaptive system provided effective assists for teachers to facilitate the PBL activities.

The impact of attitude toward peer interaction on middle school students' problem-solving self-efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has promoted the popularity of online learning, but has also exposed some problems, such as a lack of interaction, resulting in loneliness. Against this background, students' attitudes toward peer interaction may have become even more important. In order to explore the impact of attitude toward peer interaction on students' mindset including online learning motivation and critical thinking practice that could affect their problem-solving self-efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed and administered a questionnaire, receiving 1,596 valid responses. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were re-tested, and structural equation modeling was applied. It was found that attitude toward peer interaction could positively predict middle school students' online learning motivation and critical thinking. Learning motivation and critical thinking also positively supported problem-solving self-efficacy. It is expected that the results of this study can be a reference for teachers to adopt student-centered online learning in problem solving courses.

협업프로젝트 수업에서 플립드러닝 적용이 간호대학생의 문제해결능력, 의사소통능력, 학업적 자기효능감에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of flipped learning in collaborative project course on problem-solving efficacy, communication competence, and academic self-efficacy of nursing students.
 Methods A total 33 nursing student who took collaborative project course in a college located in U city participated in this study. The survey was conducted twice in the before of flipped learning and once in the after of flipped learning. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and repeated measure ANOVA using the SPSS 25.0 program.
 Results This finding indicated that problem-solving(F=7.20, p=.003) and communication competence(F=5.63, p=.009) were significantly different between pre and post-test while problem-solving, communication and academic self-efficacy were not significantly different between pre-test 1 and pre-test 2.
 Conclusions It was found that flipped learning-based collaborative project course affects the problem-solving and communication competence of nursing students. It will be necessary to develop various flipped learning activities for the collaborative project classes.
 

Knowledge Sharing Types as Predictors of Job Performance Mediated by Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy in the Information System Integration Service Industry.

Knowledge sharing is an essential approach to creative problem solving in technology firms, but few studies have considered the information system integration service industry. To address this gap, drawing on the micro-ecology theory, we developed a research model to explore the mediating role of four types of knowledge sharing (i.e., automatic response, rational reflection, ridiculed reflection, and stolen reflection) in the relationship between problem solving self-efficacy (PSSE) and IT workers’ job performance. Data were collected from 307 System Integration IT workers by using the snowball sampling method via a Google questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses of the relationships between the variables. The results showed that PSSE can positively predict four knowledge sharing types; except for stolen reflection, the others can positively predict job performance. The implication of this study is that automatic response systems and rational reflection systems in knowledge sharing can enhance job performance, supported by PSSE. It is hoped that managers can generate System Integration workers’ rational reflection to effectively evoke knowledge sharing.

A quasi-experimental evaluation of a flipped class in a public health course

Objective: Evaluate the role of flipped class in an undergraduate epidemiology course. Methods: A pre-post quasi-experiment with historical controls was conducted to evaluate students’ attitude, perception, and self-efficacy of epidemiology through a flipped class approach. Results: The sample included 254 undergraduate students. Students’ attitude, perception, and the usefulness of epidemiology, along with self-efficacy in problem solving, significantly changed after end of class. The average grade rose from B to A-. Qualitative feedback captured two themes: increased pace of the course and collaborative learning. Conclusion: To encourage collaborative learning, this study encourages the integration of active learning together with the traditional lecture style.

Individual Differences in Decisions on Physical Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic decisions on physical distancing including decisions on wearing face masks in public may depend on a number of individual characteristics, representations of threats and the degree of personal responsibility for complying with the imposed requirements.. This study on a Russian sample (N = 308) took placeduring April-May 2020. We used verbal tasks on social distancing to test the hypotheses that individual differences in empathy, implicit theories of emotions, the Dark Triad traits, rationality, and risk readiness predict decisions on whether or not to wear a mask. We developed five verbal tasks – situations where decisions on whether to wear a mask or not were made by choosing from several given reasons. Among the reasons for wearing a mask, Care for Self was chosen by 46% of participants who received this as a reason, the Law-abidingness reason was chosen by 44%, and 31% selected Care for Others. Regarding the reasons for not wearing a mask, 16% of participants chose Autonomy for Oneself, 11% – Risk Underestimation and 5% – Autonomy for Others. Logistic regressions identified that empathy, rationality, and narcissism were significant predictors of a decision to wear a face mask, while risk readiness and psychopathy were predictors of a decision not to wear a mask. Implicit theories of emotions and problem-solving self-efficacy were significant predictors only for choices between the reasons for wearing a mask. Personality variables of empathy, rationality, risk readiness, and the Dark Triad traits influence decisions on adhering to physical distancing.

Self-efficacy in non-routine problem solving in STEM education

Self-efficacy in non-routine problem solving in STEM education

The effect of the educational intervention on empowerment of male high school students in prevention of smoking

ABSTRACT Background The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the educational intervention on empowerment of male high school students in the prevention of smoking through promoting their problem-solving skills, general self-efficacy, self-control, and self-esteem. Method It is a quasi-experimental study using 300 male high school students (150 in the experimental group and 150 in the control group). The data collection tools included demographic information, a checklist for preventive behaviors, and a questionnaire about problem-solving skills, self-control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. The questionnaire was completed by the experimental and control groups before and six months after the intervention. The educational intervention for the experimental group included six educational sessions of 45–50 min in small group discussions, question and answer, practical demonstration, videos, PowerPoints, and booklets. Results The results of the study showed that before the educational intervention there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding problem-solving skills, self-control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and preventive behaviors. However, six months after the intervention, the experimental group showed a significant increase. Conclusions This study revealed the effectiveness of the educational intervention on empowerment of male high school students in prevention of smoking through promoting their problem-solving skills, general self-efficacy, self-control, and self-esteem.

Development of Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) Based Learning Devices to Improve Students’ Mathematic Problem Solving and Self Efficacy Ability in SMP Negeri 1 Hamparan Perak

This study aims to: 1) Find learning devices based on contextual teaching and learning (CTL) that can improve students' mathematic problem solving skills at SMP Negeri 1 Hamparan Perak; 2) Find learning devices based on contextual teaching and learning (CTL) that can increase student self-efficacy at SMP Negeri 1 Hamparan Perak; 3) Find practical contextual teaching and learning (CTL) based learning devices that can improve the problem solving and self-efficacy ability of students at SMP Negeri 1 Hamparan Perak; 4) Find learning devices based on contextual teaching and learning (CTL) that are effective to improve the problem-solving ability and mathematic self-efficacy of students at SMP Negeri 1 Hamparan Perak. The results show that: 1) Students' mathematic problem solving ability using learning devices based on contextual teaching and learning (CTL) increased; 2) The increase in students' self-efficacy after using contextual teaching and learning (CTL) based learning devices has increased; 3) The developed contextual teaching and learning (CTL) based learning device met the criteria for practicality of the learning devices; 4) The learning devices developed through contextual teaching and learning (CTL) to improve students' mathematics problem solving ability and self-efficacy have met the criteria of being effective. Keywords : development of learning devices, contextual teaching and learning, problem solving ability, self-efficacy DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-8-07 Publication date: March 31 st 2021

An Exploration of the Deterrents to Adult Basic Education Among Blue Collar Workers

This phenomenological study explored how blue collar workers employed in a north Mississippi manufacturing facility described their reasons for not participating in adult basic education (ABE) when nonparticipation would result in termination. The structure of the ABE classes was designed to reduce the costs and time constraints to participation. A group of 8 respondents constituted the sample from a population of 23 nonparticipating workers and maximal variation sampling was used to increase gender, race, and age diversity within the sample. Three major themes emerged as deterrents to participation: (a) Test of Adult Basic Education and ABE classes were not perceived as relevant, (b) fear of embarrassment, and (c) low self-efficacy (i.e., a self-perceived lack of capability to perform successfully). However, lack of relevancy and fear of embarrassment were found to be used as reasons for nonparticipation when low self-efficacy in learning new material, reading, and math problem solving were present.

Measuring industrial design self-efficacy and anxiety

Both evaluating students’ design works and also understanding their cognition in the industrial design process are equally important for students’ learning. This study used the design activities and design competencies required by the industrial design process as items to develop an “Industrial Design Self-Efficacy and Anxiety Scale” that can be used to help teachers better understand students’ learning from a psychological perspective. In this study, 285 industrial-design college students were recruited and item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability analysis were used to construct a scale with good reliability and validity. Analyses of the background variables revealed that (1) the self-efficacy of male students in model prototyping was significantly better than that of female students; (2) the level of anxiety regarding model prototyping was significantly higher among senior students than among freshmen students; (3) students scoring higher for self-evaluation also scored higher for self-efficacy in problem solving, information collecting, and model prototyping; and (4) students with abundant maker-space experience scored significantly higher for self-efficacy in problem solving, information collecting, and model prototyping than those with less experience. Finally, the practical use of the proposed scale is discussed.

The Effect of Problem-Based Learning on Students Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy Through Blackboard System in Higher Education

In this study, the effect of problem-based learning on students' problem-solving self-efficacy through the Blackboard system was investigated. The students’ perception of the implementation of problem-based learning into higher education and discussion through blackboard was also investigated. The participants of the study were 31 students in higher education, studying in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at Umm Al-Qura University. It is a quasi-experimental study, designed with a single group, pre-test, and post-test design. An open-ended questionnaire was used to investigate in-depth the students' perception. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained. The finding of the study reveals that there is a significant relationship between the pre-and-post-tests of the problem-based self-efficacy measurement scale. Further, the participants perceived advantages of using problem-based learning into their knowledge as well as into their learning and social skills. They reported that the Blackboard system had many benefits to complete the problem-solving activities. However, many students reported challenges in the implementation of problem-based learning as well as there were difficulties in using the blackboard system to achieve the raised problems.

Religious problem-solving styles and self-efficacy with problem-focused coping in a faith-based poverty alleviation programme

ABSTRACT How people cope with the stress of poverty and engage with its causes and potential solutions impacts their capacity to survive, manage and work to improve their situation. Problem-focused coping involves a person's engagement to make plans, mobilize resources and take action. This cross-sectional study explores the relationship of problem-focused coping with religious problem-solving styles (RPSS) and self-efficacy of participants in a faith-based poverty alleviation programme (n = 43). Results indicated that Self-directing RPSS was negatively correlated with problem-focused coping (−.34, p < .05). Collaborative RPSS was positively correlated with problem-focused coping (.40, p < .01) as was Self-efficacy RPSS (.33, p <.05). Between the independent variables, there was a positive correlation between self-efficacy and Collaborative RPSS (.32, p < .05). These results suggest participants who relied on God in a collaborative way were more likely to utilize problem-focused coping than those who did not.

Game Playing and Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy

Game Playing and Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy