EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SELF-EFFICACY AND

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF 2ND YEAR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

STUDENTS

*CHARLSTON E. MONTECILLO & JAN ZANDER PENAS

Biliran Province State University, Naval, Biliran, 650

Introduction

Self-efficacy serves as a powerful motivator for achieving success. It

reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation,

behavior, and social environment. These cognitive self-evaluations influence

all manner of human experiences, including the goals for which people strive,

the amount of energy expended toward goal achievement, and likelihood of

attaining particular levels of behavioral performance (Carey & Forsyth, 2009).

It is also a vital aspect in the realm of education since it allows students to

build self-confidence and self-beliefs.

In Engineering Course, engineering students face a lot of challenges

where it tests student's skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and

technical skills. This course also provides collaboration, which observes

students' interactions and contributions; self-assessment, which identifies

areas for improvement; and reflection on their own abilities, strengths, and

weaknesses in relation to engineering tasks. Therefore, the purpose of this

study is to examine the relationship between the self-efficacy and the

academic performances of students, specifically 2nd year electrical

engineering students.

Through this study, we'll be able to understand the relationship between

self-efficacy of the students and their academic performances which generally

benefits the student itself because it will give valuable insights to the

educators into how the student's beliefs about their own abilities can impact

their learning outcomes.

Objectives

This study aims to examine the relationship between the self-efficacy

and academic performance among 2nd Year Electrical Engineering students

of the school year 2023-2024 at Biliran Province State University. This study

specifically aims;

1. determine the self-efficacy beliefs and academic performance of each

student respondent;

2. The relationship between self-efficacy and academic performances of 2nd

year electrical engineering students

1.2 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework on the relationship between self-efficacy and

academic performance of 2nd year electrical engineering students.

Review of Related Literature

The concept of self-efficacy was firstly introduced by Albert Bandura in

1977. According to Bandura (1977), Self-efficacy refers to a person’s beliefs

that he or she is able to effectively perform the tasks needed to attain a

valued goal. It does not refer to your abilities but to how strongly you believe

you can use your abilities to work toward goals (Maddux & Kleiman, 2024).

In an online article published by Daniel Cervone (2000), their research

reviewed indicates that self-efficacy perceptions can generalize across

different situations that are related to personal attributes. The article suggests

that induced negative mood does not consistently influence perceived self-

efficacy. However, it does raise performance standards, leading to

discrepancies between perceived self-efficacy and actual performance. It also

proposes that there are distinct aspects of self-efficacy appraisal. Specifically,

it distinguishes between perceived self-efficacy for executing strategies and

perceived self-efficacy for attaining goals.

At the University of Tun Hussein Onn in Malaysia, Alias et al. (2012)

found out that the students, on average, possess a level of self-efficacy that is

slightly higher than what is typically observed. However, their self-efficacy

appears to be lower specifically in relation to their current level of study, which

is at the beginning of the degree program. A study by Marra & Bogue (2006,

cited in Alias et al., 2012) shows that self-efficacy of engineering students is

lower at the beginning of study and gets higher as they progress over the

years.
 According to the study of Mamaril et al. (2016) in his study entitled

"Measuring Undergraduate Students' Engineering Self-Efficacy: A Validation

Study", the results of their analysis suggested two self-efficacy scales. The

General Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale (unidimensional); the Engineering

Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (multidimensional with three factors representing

experimental skills, tinkering skills, and design). The General engineering self-

efficacy, as measured by the General Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale, was

found to be a significant predictor of academic achievement. This means that

student's belief in their abilities to perform engineering tasks and succeed in

their studies was associated with higher academic performance, even after

controlling for prior achievement. Moreover, the results also states that the

student's intrinsic value in engineering was found to predict their intentions to

persist in the engineering profession.

Busch (1995) performed a study to investigate the gender differences

in self-efficacy and academic performance among second year college

students studying business administration. A completed questionnaire was

done with 154 students by the researcher. The study findings suggested that

the female students had significantly lower self‐efficacy in computing and

marketing while higher self‐efficacy in statistics than the male students. In the

field of engineering discipline, Concannon & Barrow (2009) also conducted

the study about the student's self-efficacy and gender to the 519

undergraduate engineering students, the findings also did not find gender

differences in the self-efficacy of students.

 Mahyuddin et al.(2006) conducted research at the University Putra

Malaysia to explore the relationship between the student's self-efficacy and

their english language achievement. The findings showed that 51 percent of

students had high self efficacy while 48 percent showed low self efficacy. The

study employed correlational analysis which reported positive correlations

between several dimensions of self-efficacy and academic achievement in

English. Specifically, academic achievement efficacy (r = 0.48, p = 0.001),

other expectancy beliefs (r = 0.34, p = 0.005), and self-assertiveness (r =

0.41, p = 0.005) were found to be positively associated with academic

performance in English language. The results imply that fostering and

enhancing students' self-efficacy beliefs could have a positive impact on their

language learning outcomes.

Methodology

Research Design

This study employed a descriptive research design with a cross-

sectional survey design. A Cross-sectional Survey Design is a design which

data is collected from a sample of participants at a single point in time and

understands the relationships between different variables. We choose this

design to help us analyze the relationship between the self-efficacy and

academic performance of 2nd year electrical engineering students. The Self

Efficacy and Study Skills Questionnaire which was developed by Gredler and

Garavalia (cited in Alias et al., 2012) was used to assess self-efficacy of the

engineering students. The questionnaire consists of 10 items where each are

scaled using Likert Scale (1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree). The

questionnaire has four main parts namely: Introduction, Demographic

Information, Self-Efficacy & Academic Performance Section, and Closing. In

the Introduction part contains the purpose of the study and directions in

answering the questionnaire. In the Demographic Section involves collecting

personal information namely: Name, Age, Gender. In the Self-Efficacy &

Academic Performance Section, the researcher asked a series questions

regarding their self-efficacy beliefs under electrical engineering course and

their General Weighted Average (GWA) from the previous semester. In

closing, the researcher expressed gratitude to the participants for their time

and assure them that their confidentiality will be protected throughout the

study.

The said questionnaire will be distributed by the researchers to the

students through the internet via Google form. Afterwards, the responses that

are received will then be recorded and examined by the researchers.

Data Gathering

The respondents of the study will consists of 50 2nd year electrical

engineering students of the School Year 2023-2024. The participants were

selected through random sampling. This sampling method is conducted where

each member of a population has a capability to become part of the sample.

Demographic information of the students will be collected along with the Self

Efficacy and Study Skills Questionnaire (5 point Likert Scale), and the

Academic Performance of students will be measured using the General

Weighted Average (GWA) that is selected by the respondents on the

questionnaire.
Data Analysis

Data will be collected and organized from the responded

questionnaires. Data analysis will be done using Jeffreys's Amazing Statistics

Program (JASP). Count, mean, standard deviation, frequency, and

percentage will be used for descriptive analysis. The data about determining

the relationship between students' self-efficacy and academic performance

will be examined through correlation analysis using Pearson's correlation

coefficient. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the

strength and direction of the linear relationship between self-efficacy and

academic performance. The obtained correlation coefficient (r) was

interpreted to assess the significance and magnitude of the relationship.

Hypothesis testing will be conducted to determine the statistical significance

of the correlation, with a predetermined significance level of α = 0.05.

Additionally, visualizations, such as scatter plots, will be utilized to aid in the

interpretation of the results.

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