When I talk to about my interests for this project, the
words “self-efficacy” come out a lot. But I feel like the term “self-efficacy”
limits my scope of interest on the effects of tracking on students. Over the
weekend, as I was reading for our Ed Psych class, I was finally able to put into
words this something that’s been bugging me. In Woolfolk’s book, she says that,
“Most people assume that self-efficacy is the same as self-concept or
self-esteem but it isn’t…Self-concept is a more global construct that contains
many perceptions about the self, including self-efficacy. Self-concept is developed
as a result of external and internal comparisons using other people or other
aspects of the self as frames of reference. But self-efficacy focuses on your
ability to successfully accomplish a particular task with no need for
comparisons…” (2010, pg. 350). It was really nice to see this laid out so
clearly in a place where it was quite unexpected. Woolfolk then went on to talking about sources of self-efficacy that which I thought were really
interesting. Ed psych textbook going into the lit review? What? We shall see…
I have been thinking a lot about 'self-efficacy' lately; especially it's connection to autonomy. I started to equate 'self-efficacy' with competency. To be competent is simply to believe that you are capable, irregardless of your actual inability. I really LOVE this concept because it allows you to believe you are capable even in the wake of a failure. It allows you to celebrate failure as simply part of the process of learning. And it does not allow you to see failure as evidence for being incapable.
ReplyDeleteI am SUPER excited to see what your research uncovers! I was tracked into IB and AP programs, which helped cement my own 'self-efficay'. I often wondered if I would see my abilities differently had I not been an IB/AP student. Go Katherine!