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

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.

scholarly journals Exploring the Psychological Benefits of Using an Emerging Video Technology to Coach and Retain Doctoral Learners

10.28945/3954 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 049-078 ◽  
Author(s):  
June Maul ◽  
Ronald Berman ◽  
Cathrine (Cathy) Ames
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Video Technology ◽  
Psychological Benefits

Aim/Purpose: Retention of doctoral students, particularly during the dissertation stage, has been a decades-old concern. The study examined the value of dissertation chairs’ use of a cloud-based video technology for coaching doctoral students, and its influence on psychological factors previously linked to retention. The psychological aspects included social presence, research self-efficacy, social isolation, and motivation Background: Prior research identified the importance of addressing psychological factors that lead to student retention and the development of future researchers capable of producing quality research. Methodology: An exploratory case study included a survey of dissertation chairs, interviews of dissertation chairs and doctoral students, and review of documents and artifacts in a university in the southwestern United States. Contribution: The findings revealed several aspects of the video technology that dissertation chairs and their doctoral students identified as valuable from a psychological perspective, and there were several unexpected findings. Findings: Coaching using an emerging video technology positively influenced psychological factors leading to improved research self-efficacy, scholarly writing, efficiency and effectiveness of the academic coaching process, which resulted in student retention. Students identified the relationship established with their dissertation chair while using video technology led to their decision to remain in the doctoral program. Recommendations for Practitioners: Use coaching opportunities to develop research self-efficacy as well as to increase social presence, which will help reduce social isolation and increase student retention. Recommendation for Researchers: Integrate emerging cloud-based video technologies for conducting research to engage multiple researchers at different locations. Impact on Society: This virtual coaching approach can improve the research capabilities and reten-tion of doctoral students in today’s online world during the dissertation phase. Future Research: To validate the relationships found in this study, future research should focus on the quantitative aspects of the psychological factors identified in this study.

scholarly journals Factors affecting academic self-efficacy and learning experiences of pharmacy students: Insights from a qualitative study in Zambia

2021 ◽  
pp. 133-144
Author(s):  
Aubrey Chichonyi Kalungia ◽  
Micheal Chigunta ◽  
James Sichone ◽  
Bugewa Apampa ◽  
Sarah Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Educational Programme ◽  
Pharmacy Students ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Academic Self Efficacy

Background: Factors influencing how pharmacy students learn and experience pharmaceutical education have not been elucidated in Zambia. Aim: To elucidate contextual factors affecting academic self-efficacy and learning experiences among undergraduate pharmacy students at a public university in Zambia. Methods: A qualitative study utilising focus group discussions was conducted at the University of Zambia. Thirty-two undergraduate pharmacy students participated in four focus group discussions. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. Results: Four themes and eight sub-themes emerged from the data. Notional time management, learning style, and motivation; educational programme-related factors such as course load, the pace of teaching; the learning environment; and assessment practices affected undergraduate pharmacy students’ self-efficacy and learning experiences. Conclusion: Addressing the student-related, educational programme-related, and the learning environment factors identified in this study will contribute to the improvement of undergraduate pharmacy students’ learning experiences. This is premised to improve their educational outcomes and future practice of pharmaceutical care.

scholarly journals Illuminating Differences in The Psychological Predictors of Academic Performance for First- And Continuing-Generation Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Academic Stress ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Academic Self Efficacy

First-generation college students experience a disproportionate rate of challenges on college campuses, reflected by lower academic performance. Research has identified academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress all as psychological factors associated with academic performance. However, this research rarely distinguishes between first- and continuing-generation students, and there may be unique effects for each group. We investigated whether the previously identified psychological factors associated with academic performance hold the same relationships for firstand continuing-generation college students. A sample of 143 undergraduate students self-reported levels of academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress. Academic performance was measured using their midterm exam grade. There were differences found in the mean levels of psychological factors and their associations with academic performance for first- and continuing-generation students. Overall, the psychological factors explained a very small portion of the variance in academic performance among first-generation students (13.4%) with none of the psychological factors holding an independent association with academic performance. Conversely, psychological factors explained considerably more of the variance in academic performance for continuing-generation students (60.5%), with domains of goal orientation and academic stress being independently associated with academic performance. Our findings suggest that new pathways to improving first-generation students’ academic performance should be identified, and that

scholarly journals The Significance of Self-directed Learning Readiness, Academic Self-efficacy, and Problem-solving Ability Among Filipino Nursing Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 83-94
Author(s):  
Johnny J. Yao
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Learning Readiness ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Indirect Association ◽  
Academic Self Efficacy

A professional skill that permits nursing students to carry out nursing interventions in the workplace is the ability to solve health care problems. This is essential if they want to become professional nurses. Educators have been attempting to establish effective instructional techniques to improve nursing students’ problem-solving abilities. This study examined the relationship between problem-solving ability, academic self-efficacy, and self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) among nursing students. This study utilized a descriptive correlational study and recruited 170 nursing students in a private higher education institution in the Philippines. Standardized questionnaires were distributed, and data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results show that there is a significant indirect association between problem-solving ability and SDLR (r = -0.525, p < 0.001). Secondly, there is a significant direct association between SDLR and academic self-efficacy (r = 0.549, p < 0.001). Lastly, there is a significant indirect association between academic self-efficacy and problem-solving ability (r = -0.505, p < 0.001). The findings substantiate the assumptions of the study that academic self-efficacy, SDLR, and problem-solving ability of students have relationships with each other. Thus, students who are self-directed learners and are confident with their abilities of success in school tasks are able to solve complex problems or issues. Future research may be explored using longitudinal designs to be able to ascertain the causal link and directionality of the variables related to the present study.

The Role of Mentoring on Hispanic Graduate Students’ Sense of Belonging and Academic Self-Efficacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Holloway-Friesen
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Academic Self Efficacy

This quantitative study examined the role of mentoring on 332 Hispanic graduate students’ sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy. The results found that mentored Hispanic graduate students reported significantly higher levels of sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy than unmentored students. A hierarchical regression found 24% of the variance in academic self-efficacy was accounted for by mentoring and sense of belonging. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

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

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.

scholarly journals Starting Doctoral Dissertation Journey with a Solid Research Problem Statement – A Four Stage Framework

10.28945/4770 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azad Ali ◽  
Shardul Pandya
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Student Adjustment ◽  
Problem Statement ◽  
Graduate Studies ◽  
Doctoral Studies

Aim/Purpose: Provide methodology suggesting steps to doctoral mentors to work with students in constructing their research problem statement in their dissertation. Background: Doctoral students face difficulties writing their dissertation and they begin by writing the research problem statement. Methodology: This paper uses a framework widely used to describe student adjustment to graduate studies in general and to doctoral program in particular. Contribution: This study provides a framework to mentors/advisors that is helpful in guiding the students to writing their research problem statement. Findings: Writing a research problem statement is difficult by itself. Following a methodological approach suggested in this study could help with writing it. Recommendations for Practitioners: A methodological approach in writing the dissertation is helpful to mitigate the difficulties of writing the dissertation. Our study tackles difficulties with writing the research problem statement. Recommendations for Researchers: More research needs to be done on methodological approach to writing the other sections in the dissertation. Impact on Society: Our findings in this research will help doctoral mentors/advisors as they guide students in completing the writing of their research problem statement Future Research: Intention for future research is to follow similar methodological approach in guiding students in writing the other sections of the dissertation. *** NOTE: This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 16, 469-485 Click DOWNLOAD PDF to download the published paper. ***

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