scholarly journals The Effects of Doctoral Teaching Development on Early-Career STEM Scholars’ College Teaching Self-efficacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. ar14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Connolly ◽  
You-Geon Lee ◽  
Julia N. Savoy

To help prepare future faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to teach undergraduates, more research universities are offering teaching development (TD) programs to doctoral students who aspire to academic careers. Using social cognitive career theory, we examine the effects of TD programs on early-career STEM scholars’ sense of self-efficacy as postsecondary teachers. In 2011, a survey questionnaire was administered to 2156 people who in 2009 were doctoral students in STEM departments at three U.S. research universities; 1445 responded (67%). Regression analysis revealed positive relationships between TD participation and participants’ college teaching self-efficacy and positive interaction effects for women. These findings may be used to improve the quality and quantity of TD offerings and help them gain wider acceptance.

2020 ◽  
pp. 089124242097375
Author(s):  
Brandon Ofem ◽  
Samuel J. Polizzi ◽  
Gregory T. Rushton ◽  
Michael Beeth ◽  
Brock Couch ◽  
...  

There is currently a severe shortage of teachers in the U.S. workforce. The problem is especially acute among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and exacerbated by high turnover among new teachers—those with less than 5 years of teaching experience. In this article, the authors investigate one piece of the puzzle. The authors model a social cognitive approach to understanding self-efficacy, a key precursor to job performance and retention. Their interactionist approach accounts for both demographic (i.e., gender and age) and relational variables (i.e., social networks). The authors test their ideas on a sample of 159 STEM teachers across five geographic regions in the United States. Their analysis reveals patterned differences in self-efficacy across gender that are contingent on the communities of practice in which the teachers are embedded. Together, their theory and findings highlight the value of taking a holistic, interactionist view in explaining STEM teacher self-efficacy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Wong

Women continue to be underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers/sectors. Concurrently, negative stereotypes about women’s abilities to perform in STEM persists. This research examined whether gender stereotypes influence women’s STEM-related intentions and choices and the mediating influence of cognitive predictors based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). In total, 194 women from Ryerson University were randomly assigned to a stereotype threat (n =65), stereotype nullification (n = 65), or control condition (n = 64). Participants completed questionnaires assessing math self-efficacy, math and science interests and intentions, and a math/verbal choice task. In support of SCCT, math self-efficacy and math/science interests predicted math/science intentions and choice on the math/verbal test. Furthermore, “math identified” participants in the stereotype threat condition reported lower math/science intentions. This research has implications for current interventions designed to increase women’s participation and retention in STEM.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aida Alisic ◽  
Bettina S. Wiese

Career insecurity is a central topic in career research because many career paths are characterized by high levels of uncertainty. In academia, individuals face not only high levels of insecurity in the early career phase but also the responsibility of managing their careers by themselves. Building on the motivational theory of life-span development and the social cognitive theory of self-regulation, this longitudinal study investigates the relationship between perceived career insecurity, work-related self-management, and occupational self-efficacy beliefs based on a sample of 3,118 PhD students and PhD holders. We employed the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to separate between-person effects from within-person effects across eight measurement points (6-month time intervals). At the between-person level, career insecurity was negatively correlated with self-management and self-efficacy. At the within-person level, (a) increases in self-management and self-efficacy predicted decreases in subsequent career insecurity, and (b) increases in career insecurity predicted decreases in subsequent self-management and self-efficacy. Mediation analyses showed self-management to reduce career insecurity via increases in self-efficacy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Wong

Women continue to be underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers/sectors. Concurrently, negative stereotypes about women’s abilities to perform in STEM persists. This research examined whether gender stereotypes influence women’s STEM-related intentions and choices and the mediating influence of cognitive predictors based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). In total, 194 women from Ryerson University were randomly assigned to a stereotype threat (n =65), stereotype nullification (n = 65), or control condition (n = 64). Participants completed questionnaires assessing math self-efficacy, math and science interests and intentions, and a math/verbal choice task. In support of SCCT, math self-efficacy and math/science interests predicted math/science intentions and choice on the math/verbal test. Furthermore, “math identified” participants in the stereotype threat condition reported lower math/science intentions. This research has implications for current interventions designed to increase women’s participation and retention in STEM.


2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen L. Usher

According to A. Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, individuals form their self-efficacy beliefs by interpreting information from four sources: mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasions, and physiological or affective states. The purpose of this study was to examine the heuristics students use as they form their mathematics self-efficacy from these and other sources. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight middle school students who reported either high or low self-efficacy and with students’ parents and mathematics teachers. Students relied on information from all four hypothesized sources, which were combined according to various heuristics. Teaching structures, course placement, and students’ self-regulated learning also emerged as important factors related to self-efficacy. Results refine and extend the tenets of social cognitive theory.


2021 ◽  
pp. 001312452110625
Author(s):  
Madhu Narayanan ◽  
Jill G. Ordynans ◽  
Amber Wang ◽  
Matthew S. McCluskey ◽  
Nathalie Elivert ◽  
...  

The factors that influence the construction of a teacher’s sense of self-efficacy are complex. The authors used a qualitative research design to explore the reflections of a sample of 25 K-12 early career teachers as they made sense of their own abilities. The results show that theorized sources of self-efficacy—mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and verbal persuasion—all remain important but are interpreted through each participant’s unique background and conception of identity. Teacher Self-Efficacy emerged as a construct that both influenced and was influenced by this collection of individual factors. This study provides insight into how each teacher’s unique experiences interact dynamically with school environments and personal stories to shape their sense of self-efficacy. The findings can influence how new teachers are supported by coaches and teacher educators to build the confidence and motivation necessary to persist through the challenges of teaching.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Tandon

The current investigation studies the relationship between Self Efficacy and Flow among Young Adults. Only Csíkszentmihályi seems to have published suggestions for extrinsic applications of the flow concept, such as design methods for playgrounds to elicit the flow experience. Other practitioners of Csíkszentmihályi’s flow concept focus on intrinsic applications, such as spirituality, performance improvement, or self-help. His work has also informed the measurement of donor momentum by The New Science of Philanthropy. Psychologist Albert Bandura has defined self-efficacy as one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. One’s sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in how one approaches goals, tasks, and challenges. The theory of self-efficacy lies at the center of Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which emphasizes the role of observational learning and social experience in the development of personality. Based on the review of literature, It is expected that there is a relationship between self efficacy and flow among young adults and it is expected that there self efficacy and flow is different in males and females. The sample comprised of 40 college students randomly selected from Panjab University, Chandigarh belonging to Statistics Departments. They were of 18-21 years of age. Purposive Random sampling method was used for selection of the sample. Generalized Self Efficacy Scale (GSE) by Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M.(1995) and Flow Short Scale by Rheinberg, Vollmeyer, and Engeser (2003; cf. Engeser & Rheinberg, 2008) were used to carry out the investigation. Mean and Standard Deviation(SD) was calculated in addition to correlation and t ratio.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren A. Blondeau ◽  
Germine H. Awad

Currently, the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs are expanding faster than the U.S. labor market; yet many individuals with STEM degrees choose to work in other fields. The present study uses social cognitive career theory as a framework for researching the impact of several variables on future expectations to continue in STEM. We measured math self-efficacy with the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales and impostorism from the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale. New measures of interest and future intentions were created. One hundred twenty-one undergraduates (47.1% women; median age = 21.00) enrolled in STEM majors completed an online survey. We hypothesized that math self-efficacy and interest would significantly predict future expectations and that impostorism would significantly add to this prediction. This theory was analyzed with a hierarchical multiple regression, and the hypothesis was supported by data from men. In the women’s model, only interest emerged as a significant predictor. Implications are discussed.


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