CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter deals with the review of related literature and studies that were

significant to the study. In particular, this involves discussions on self-efficacy, academic

performance and relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance.

Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is the belief in the ability of one’s self to attain a certain goal.

Taylor (2014) emphasized that the gifted students at Springfield Middle School in

Williamsport, Maryland possess stronger levels of self-efficacy than average students.

The purpose of her study for the term “gifted students” refers to students who are

enrolled in above-grade-level classes at Springfield Middle School. Students must score

high in tests and interviews in order to be placed in above-grade-level classes. According

to Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory, increased levels of self-efficacy contribute to

a person’s ability to complete a task. Using the Children’s Perceived Academic Self-

Efficacy subscale from The Morgan-Jinks Student Efficacy Scale (MJSES), the study

conducted at Springfield Middle School examined the correlation between students’ self-

efficacy level and their self-reported academic grades in English, math, science, and

social studies. Also, the correlation between above-grade-level students’ self-efficacy and

their self-reported grades was compared to those of general students. The sample

included 56 from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade middle school students from a suburban area in

Williamsport, Maryland. Through the use of a Chi Square Test of Independence, the
results indicated that regardless of class level, students’ self-efficacy in math and science

are related to their grades in those subjects. Using independent t tests, no significant

difference between the self-efficacy composite of grade-level and above-grade-level

students was discovered.

In the study of Fitriani, Zubaidah, Susilo, and Al Muhdhar (2017), Self-efficacy is

the student’s belief in the ability to perform necessary tasks or actions to achieve a

particular outcome. Self-efficacy can influence students’ feelings, ways of thinking,

motivations, academic achievements, and social behaviors. The higher the self-efficacy

of the students, the higher the achievement and ability students may get. The purpose of

this research was to know the self-efficacy of State Senior High School students in

Bengkulu City, Indonesia toward Biology Lesson. Measurement of self-efficacy refers to

3 aspects, namely magnitude, strength, and generality. The method used was survey

method. The samples of this research were 160 students of class X of academic year

2017/2018 taken from Public High School (SMAN) 1, Public High School (SMAN) 2,

Public High School (SMAN) 4, Public High School (SMAN) 5 and Public High School

(SMAN) 6. The results of the study showed that the average self-efficacy of students are

58.60 on magnitude aspect with the medium category, 56.85 in strength aspect with the

medium category, and 48.70 in generality aspect with the low category. Based on the

results of this study, it is necessary to improve the learning process especially by using

models of learning that can improve students' self-efficacy in Biology Lessons.

Taylor (2014) indicated that regardless of class level, students’ self-efficacy in

math and science are related to their grades in those subjects. But there is no significant

difference between the self-efficacy composite of grade-level and above-grade-level

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students was discovered. While Fitriani, [Link]. (2017) showed that the average self-

efficacy of students are 58.60 on magnitude aspect with the medium category, 56.85 in

strength aspect with the medium category, and 48.70 in generality aspect with the low

category.

Academic Performance

Academic Performance refers to how well a student can perform, academically.

The purpose of the study about “Mathematics and Science Achievement: Effects

of Motivation, Interest, and Academic Engagement” was to examine the effects of 3

school-related constructs—motivation, attitude, and academic engagement—on 8th-grade

students' achievement in mathematics and science. Although cognitive abilities of the

students and their home backgrounds are important predictors of achievement, in recent

years affective variables have emerged as salient factors affecting success and persistence

in mathematics and science subject areas. The authors used the nationally representative

sample of 8th graders drawn from the National Education Longitudinal Study 1988. They

used structural equation models to estimate and test the hypothesized relationships of 2

motivation factors, 1 attitude factor, and 1 academic engagement factor, on achievement

in mathematics and science. Results supported the positive effects of the 2 motivation

factors, attitude and academic time on mathematics and science achievement. The

strongest effects were those of academic time spent on homework (Singh, Granville, &

Dika, 2010).

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 According to the study of Pintrich and De Groot (2012), a correlational study

examined relationships between motivational orientation, self-regulated learning, and

classroom academic performance for 173 seventh graders from eight science and seven

English classes. A self-report measure of student self-efficacy, intrinsic value, test

anxiety, self-regulation, and use of learning strategies was administered, and performance

data were obtained from work on classroom assignments. Self-efficacy and intrinsic

value were positively related to cognitive engagement and performance. Regression

analyses revealed that, depending on the outcome measure, self-regulation, self-efficacy,

and test anxiety emerged as the best predictors of performance. Intrinsic value did not

have a direct influence on performance but was strongly related to self-regulation and

cognitive strategy use, regardless of prior achievement level. The implications of

individual differences in motivational orientation for cognitive engagement and self-

regulation in the classroom are discussed.

DordiNejad, [Link]. (2011) said that their study investigated the relationship

between test anxiety and academic performance of Iranian university students in a

Medical university. For this purpose, the valid and reliable questionnaire of Sarason was

administered to 150 female and male students. Man Whitney and correlation Spearman

methods revealed that test anxiety has negative effect on participants’ academic

performance. Participants’ psychological and physiological experience was also

descriptively discussed before, during, and after taking the test. Results show that

students studying in lower degrees are more anxious than those who are more familiar

with the test taking process in academic environment.

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 Based from Afzal, Ali, Khan, and Hamid (2010), God-gifted talents, best teachers

and best schooling augment the academic performance and students’ motivation is

prerequisite for students’ accomplishment. This study attempts to identify the influence

of students’ motivation on their academic performance. The sample of 342 individuals

studying in different universities of Pakistan was selected. Questionnaires comprising

three parts were sent directly to targeted segment. In the first part, the first few questions

are related to personal information; second part consists of thirty questions of “The

University Student Motivation and Satisfaction Questionnaire Version 2”, which was

used to measure students’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and last part is related to

academics performance of the students. The study delineates that students’ motivations

dimensions extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation has positive impact on academic

performance of students. Academics performance amplifies between the ranges of 23

percent and 34 percent due to extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation and the

overall model is significant. When we compare variables on individual bases, students

who adapt self-exploratory variable and altruism variable, rejection of alternative options

variable tend to perform better, whereas student who adapt career and qualifications

variable, social enjoyment variable and social pressure variable tend to perform less than

expected. The study accentuates that students’ motivation is a vital part of students’

success.

It was stated in the study of (Singh, [Link], 2010), DordiNejad, [Link]. (2011), and

Afzal, [Link] (2010), a student’s performance in academic was affected by some other

factors like academic engagement, academic environment and individual bases but in the

study of Pintrich and De Groot (2012) Intrinsic value did not have a direct influence on

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performance but was strongly related to self-regulation and cognitive strategy use,

regardless of prior achievement level. Thus, these studies prove that there are some

factors that can affect the academic performance of a student.

Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Academic Performance

Goulão (2014) examined the relationship between the academic self-efficacy of

an adult learners group in an online learning context with their actual performance. Her

study aims to evaluate the relationship between self-concept of a group of students in

online context and their academic achievement. Data were collected from 63 students of

both genders, with average age of 42 years old, selected from the first year of their

undergraduate studies. She analyzed their performance in academic course specifies. An

adapted questionnaire was used to measure self-efficacy. The data was analyzed using

descriptive and inferential statistics. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to see

the relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance. The analysis of the

data indicated that students’ level of self-efficacy is high and a significant relationship

exists between self-efficacy and academic achievement.

From the study of Loo and Choy (2013), the 3rd year engineering students were

examined to measure (a) the correlation of the four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy

(mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, emotional arousal) with

academic performance, and (b) the prediction of the main source of self-efficacy that

affects academic performance. A 40-item survey measuring sources of mathematics self-

efficacy was administered to 178 third-year engineering students. Academic

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performance, which includes mathematics module grades and cumulative grade point

average (GPA) scores, were collated. The results of the present study showed that self-

efficacy sources were correlated with mathematics achievement scores as well as

cumulative GPA of electronics-related engineering diplomas. More importantly, mastery

experience was found to be the main predictor for academic achievements of

mathematics and related engineering modules. Finally, suggestions are offered to help

curriculum developers in instructional design so as to improve students’ engineering

academic performance.

The study of Bayero, Dutse, and Ahmad (2017) aimed to examine the effect of

computer self-efficacy on students’ academic performance among federal universities in

north-east Nigeria. The theoretical consideration was grounded to Martin Ford’s

motivational system theory. Cross - sectional survey design was adopted and the units of

analysis were undergraduate students. Stratified random sampling was employed to

collect data from 461 students where each stratum was apportioned a questionnaire

proportionate to its size in relation to other strata. Descriptive and inferential statistics

were used to analyze data using SPSS for windows, version 20. Linear regression was

used for data analyses. The findings of the study revealed that computer self-efficacy has

significant positive effect on student’s academic performance.

This research integrated the relationship between academic self-efficacy and

university student's academic performance, and known cognitive and motivational

variables that explain this relationship. Previous reviews reported moderate correlations

between these variables, but few discussed mediating and moderating factors that impact

this relationship. Systematic searches were conducted in April 2015 of psychological,

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educational, and relevant online databases for studies investigating academic self-efficacy

and performance in university populations published between September 2003 and April

2015. Fifty-nine papers were eligible. Academic self-efficacy moderately correlated with

academic performance. Several mediating and moderating factors were identified,

including effort regulation, deep processing strategies and goal orientations. Given the

paucity of longitudinal studies identified in this review, further research into how these

variables relate over time is necessary in order to establish causality and uncover the

complex interaction between academic self-efficacy, performance, and motivational and

cognitive variables that impact it (Honicke & Broadbent 2016).

The study of Loo and Choy (2013), Goulão (2014), and Bayero, [Link]. (2017)

stated that self-efficacy is correlated with academic performance. In general these

researchers found that significant relationship exist between self-efficacy and academic

achievement. Thus, the researchers want to find out if these significant relationships exist

in academic performance in mathematics.

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Synthesis and Relevance of the Reviewed Literature and Studies

The researchers used these related literature and studies as basis for their research

that can contribute to the study on relationship between self-efficacy and performance in

Math. Some of the researches asserted that self – efficacy arose as one of the factors in

motivational learning of the learners. Other researches addressed the factors that affect

the academic performance of the learners. Most of the researches showed that self-

efficacy can affect the academic performance of the students. The results showed that

students having self-efficacy can be an indicator of positive effect and predictor to

achieve academic excellence. In foreign studies, the researchers showed that there is a

relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance.

Academic achievement is an indicator of a good performance. But good

performance does not imply an academic achievement. Since the other researchers

focused more on the academic achievement of students, this research emphasized the

performance of students in terms of Mathematics. There are some aspects that can affect

the performance of students. Based from the recent researches, self-efficacy is one of

those aspects that can affect it. Self-efficacy is necessary to boost their motivation to do

something and applied a maximum effort onto it. Furthermore, it can be used as a tool for

reaching a certain objective or goal. Also, it became a key to believe in one’s ability.

Then, a person will shine in his/her own uniqueness. Moreover, if an individual has a set

goal and believed that it is achievable, then this belief can be used as a weapon to

succeed. Finally, self-efficacy can influence the set of desired outcomes.

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