Vocational Aspirations and Perceived Self-Efficacy of Doctoral Students in the Counseling Professions

AbstractThis qualitative study explores the sources of the self-efficacy development of five Chinese doctoral students’ use of English as a second language in a southeastern university in the United Sates. Although individual differences were reported, common themes were also recognized. Consistent with the self-efficacy theory and previous studies in this field, the major factors that influenced the participants’ self-efficacy beliefs to use English are (1) past performance, (2) peers’ and advisors’ influence, (3) social persuasions, (4) emotional and physiological states, (5) self-awareness of English proficiency, (6) familiarity with and the difficulty level of the tasks, and (7) interest. The uniqueness of this study is that western individualism and Chinese collectivism were considered in the discussion of self-efficacy development. In order to improve Chinese students’ self-efficacy beliefs in learning English as well as to enhance their academic attainments and professional performance, it is necessary to explicitly understand which factors and components play significant roles in the development of their self-efficacy beliefs.

Download Full-text

Understanding the Transient Nature of STEM Doctoral Students’ Research Self-Efficacy Across Time: Considering the Role of Gender, Race, and First-Generation College Status

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.617060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Kaylee Litson ◽

Jennifer M. Blaney ◽

David F. Feldon

Keyword(s):

Doctoral Students ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

First Generation ◽

Future Research ◽

First Generation Students ◽

Demographic Groups ◽

Transient Nature ◽

Random Intercept ◽

First Generation College ◽

Over Time

Developing research self-efficacy is an important part of doctoral student preparation. Despite the documented importance of research self-efficacy, little is known about the progression of doctoral students’ research self-efficacy over time in general and for students from minoritized groups. This study examined both within- and between-person stability of research self-efficacy from semester to semester over 4 years, focusing on doctoral students in biological sciences (N = 336). Using random intercept autoregressive analyses, we evaluated differences in stability across gender, racially minoritized student status, and first-generation student status. Results showed similar mean levels of self-efficacy across demographic groups and across time. However, there were notable differences in between-person and within-person stability over time, specifically showing higher between-person and lower within-person stability for racially minoritized and first-generation students. These findings indicate that racially minoritized and first-generation students’ research self-efficacy reports were less consistent from semester to semester. Such results may indicate that non-minoritized and continuing-generation students’ experiences from semester to semester typically reinforce their beliefs about their own abilities related to conducting research, while such is not the case for racially minoritized nor first-generation students. Future research should examine what types of experiences impact self-efficacy development across doctoral study to offer more precise insights about factors that influence these differences in within-person stability.

Download Full-text

Factors Affecting Academic Self-Efficacy and Academic Self-handicapping Behaviors in Doctoral Students

International Journal of Doctoral Studies ◽

10.28945/4414 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 637-649

Author(s):

Anique A Falconer ◽

Borivoje-Boris Djokic

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Student Retention ◽

Doctoral Students ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Psychological Factors ◽

Doctoral Program ◽

Future Research ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Academic Self Efficacy

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine to which degree age, race, and Socioeconomic Status (SES) influence academic self-efficacy and academic self-handicapping behaviors in doctoral. Background: Across all disciplines, more than 50% of students who begin a doctoral program do not persist to graduation. Although the issue of student retention and psychological factors have been proffered, much attention has not been placed on this relationship. Past researchers have focused primarily on academic-related, student-related, institutional, and financial factors. Methodology: A quantitative study was conducted, using the exploratory factor analysis. One-hundred and sixty-five participants, of legal age, who had completed at least one semester of a doctoral program, were involved in this current study. Contribution: The findings from this study increase the empirical evidence reported on the scarce literature on student retention and psychological factors in doctoral students. Findings: The factor analysis test did not show a statistically significance between the dependent variables -academic self-efficacy and academic self-handicapping- and any of the independent variables – gender, race, age, and socioeconomic status. Recommendations for Practitioners: Higher education leaders should make a proactive effort to understand the issue of student retention from a psychological perspective and make implementations to reduce these problems for doctoral students. Recommendation for Researchers: Future researchers should explore in-depth psychological variables that contribute to the high attrition rates in doctoral students. Impact on Society: A better understanding of the factors affecting the cognitive strategies and self-constructs of doctoral students could provide those working in academia with a better understanding of the problem and increase awareness at a societal level. Future Research: It is recommended that future research be carried using a mixed methods approach to offset the limitations found in the quantitative strand and gain thick, rich data from the qualitative strand.

Download Full-text

When Will They Blow My Cover?

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000102 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 220 (2) ◽

pp. 109-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Gregor Jöstl ◽

Evelyn Bergsmann ◽

Marko Lüftenegger ◽

Barbara Schober ◽

Christiane Spiel

Keyword(s):

Doctoral Students ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Impostor Phenomenon ◽

Important Indicator ◽

Psychological Barriers ◽

Psychological Barrier ◽

German Speaking ◽

Efficacy Research ◽

Impostor Feelings ◽

The University

This study contributes to explaining psychological barriers in female university careers by examining the relation between the impostor phenomenon and research self-efficacy in the university context. The impostor phenomenon refers to people who are objectively competent but feel the opposite and therefore fear being unmasked. So far, there have been no data from German-speaking countries concerning the impostor phenomenon at universities; thus, the impostor phenomenon was examined in a sample of 631 (389 female) Austrian doctoral students. One-third of the sample reported moderate to strong impostor feelings. Female doctoral students both suffer more from impostor feelings and show lower research self-efficacy than male doctoral students do. Furthermore, the impostor phenomenon and research self-efficacy are associated with faculty membership. The most important finding is that the impostor phenomenon is negatively related to research self-efficacy. Research self-efficacy is an important indicator for successful university careers; hence, the impostor phenomenon was shown to be a psychological barrier for female university careers. Implications for support programs for female doctoral students are discussed.

Download Full-text

Non-Cognitive Factor Relationships to Hybrid Doctoral Student Self-Efficacy

International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies ◽

10.4018/ijwltt.2015010101 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Jessica Dalby Egbert ◽

Frank Gomez ◽

Wenling Li ◽

Sandra L. Pennington

Keyword(s):

Doctoral Students ◽

Peer Support ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Cognitive Theory ◽

Doctoral Student ◽

Task Value ◽

Cognitive Factor ◽

Student Experiences ◽

Campus Experiences

Statistical analysis of data gathered from 139 healthcare doctoral students revealed three key findings regarding non-cognitive factor relationships to hybrid doctoral student self-efficacy between online (web-based) and on-campus course components. First, student experiences significantly differed between online and on-campus course components for task value and faculty and peer support. For these factors, on-campus experiences were perceived significantly more positively than online experiences. Secondly, both online and on-campus experiences with task value, faculty and peer support, and boredom and frustration were correlated with self-efficacy: when students experienced high levels of either task value or faculty and peer support, self-efficacy increased; however, when students experienced high levels of boredom and frustration, self-efficacy decreased. Finally, only online task value positively predicted self-efficacy. These findings demonstrated the significant impact of non-cognitive factors on student success and carry implications for successful hybrid teaching and learning. Social cognitive theory provided the framework for the quantitative, non-experimental design.

Download Full-text

Students Research Self-Efficacy During Online Doctoral Research Courses

Contemporary Issues in Education Research (CIER) ◽

10.19030/cier.v3i3.187 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 51 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Beate Baltes ◽

Peter Hoffman-Kipp ◽

Laura Lynn ◽

Lisa Weltzer-Ward

Keyword(s):

Doctoral Students ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Original Research ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Research Experiences ◽

Doctoral Research ◽

Students First ◽

Course Experience

This study will explore student skill development and research self-efficacy as related to online doctoral students’ first core research course experience. Findings from this study will be used to inform instructors in effective ways to support doctoral students during their early research experiences. This support will ensure that online graduate students will develop well-crafted dissertations and following graduation, continue to conduct research. The original research design was a grounded theory study where both qualitative and quantitative data were to be collected prior to students starting the course and following course completion. It was proposed to collect data through interviews, observations in the form of documented online discussions and correspondences, and the Research Self-Efficacy Scale (RSES). Course grades and final research outline projects were supposed to be examined to determine student mastery of key concepts. A convenience sample was to be drawn but due to a low response rate, the authors decided to apply an exploratory case study method and use this as a pilot to inform a larger study. The final result of the case study analysis will be detailed descriptions of each case with discussion of categories and themes along with the exploration of commonalities and differences.

Download Full-text

Exploring Writing Anxiety and Self-Efficacy among EFL Graduate Students in Taiwan

Higher Education Studies ◽

10.5539/hes.v6n1p24 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 24 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mei-ching Ho

Keyword(s):

Graduate Students ◽

Doctoral Students ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Research Writing ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Writing Anxiety ◽

Affective Constructs ◽

Individual Variables ◽

The Individual ◽

Survey Responses

This study investigates research writing anxiety and self-efficacy beliefs among English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) graduate students in engineering-related fields. The relationship between the two writing affective constructs was examined and students’ perspectives on research writing anxiety were also explored. A total of 218 survey responses from engineering graduate students at Taiwanese universities were analyzed, along with qualitative data from open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that while master’s and doctoral students felt a similar moderate level of writing anxiety, senior doctoral students were more self-efficacious about writing research papers in English than their junior counterparts. Overall, students with higher writing self-efficacy felt less apprehensive. Additionally, among the individual variables, experience in writing for publication better predicted writing anxiety and self-efficacy than students’ self-reported English proficiency and the number of writing courses taken. The qualitative findings indicated various sources of graduate-level writing anxiety, including insufficient writing skills in English, time constraints, and fear of negative comments. Furthermore, composing different sections of a research paper provoked different levels of anxiety due to the variations in the rhetorical purposes and discourse structures of particular sections. Implications on dealing with research writing anxiety are also discussed.

Download Full-text