Browsing by Subject "Self-efficacy"
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Item A quantitative study of intended post-graduation plans of undergraduate biomedical engineering students : assessing self-efficacy, value, and identity beliefs(2020-04-09) Patrick, Anita D.; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Borrego, Maura; Markey, Mia; Neff, KristinThere has been a consistent call to action to attract talented individuals to help bolster the STEM workforce. Yet, the lack of diversity of students attracted to STEM and the inability to retain them in the profession persists. Among STEM fields, engineering is a prime discipline for examining this challenge. However, treating engineering as one monolithic profession is both inaccurate and misleading as there are over 28 accredited engineering programs in the United States alone with varying levels of diversity based on student demographics. Nonetheless, engineering programs remain male-dominated; however, biomedical engineering (BME) is one such discipline with nearly equal proportions of men and women. BME is a unique case in which to study the intended post-graduation plans of undergraduate engineering students as degree holders have been cited to go on to work in a variety of careers in and outside of the engineering workforce. My aim in this dissertation is to address gaps in the biomedical engineering/engineering education literature on undergraduate women’s intended career choices and related implications. In doing so I problematize the binary and often deficit view of “stay or leave” as related to persistence in engineering and instead further contextualize choice by capturing the potentialities of students’ intended post-graduation plans. Drawing from Eccles’ Expectancy Value Theory and models of STEM Identity in engineering education, I investigate this issue. Using quantitative research methodologies, I explore the structural relationships between student gender and the motivational engineering attitudes of academic self-efficacy, interest, utility value, attainment value, and professional identity. Data was gathered from n=716 undergraduate biomedical engineering students from a large public research institution in the Southwestern United States. Using hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis, the results revealed students form five clusters of intended post-graduation plans: Engineering, Job, Non-engineering, All, and School. I further examined the composition of these clusters by student gender and classification; gender differences in engineering attitudes between clusters; and gender differences in engineering attitudes within clusters followed by structural equation models to assess the fit of gender and engineering attitudes as related to cluster membership. Implications and areas of future research are discussed.Item Achievement motivation processes and the role of classroom context(1992) Hagen, Anastasia Steffen, 1958-; Wicker, Frank; Weinstein, Claire E.An integrated model of achievement motivation was proposed that included mastery and performance goal orientation, self-efficacy, test-anxiety, and self-regulated learning. There were two studies performed to evaluate this model. The purpose of the first study was to examine the ways in which the variables in the model contribute to academic achievement. The subjects in this study were college students enrolled in two introductory statistics courses. The measures were also administered at two different times over the course of the semester to test for reciprocal relationships among the variables over time. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Because the subjects in the first study were all enrolled in the same type of course, with similar course requirements and grading policies, the purpose of the second study was to determine how the relationships among the variables in the model might differ as a function of classroom context. The subjects in the second study were enrolled in one of two different College of Business Administration courses. One of the courses placed a greater emphasis on mastering the material (low competitive context), while in the other course the students competed with one another for high grades (high competitive context). The model was first solved separately for each group and then the fit of the model was compared across the two classroom contexts. The findings from the two studies indicated consistent positive relationships among mastery goal orientation, self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning. This suggests that being mastery-oriented results in higher self-efficacy and increased use of self-regulated learning strategies. Another consistent finding was that performance goals were positively related to test anxiety in both studies. This suggests that students with performance goals may also be more likely to experience higher test anxiety. Finally, the fit of the model was significantly different across the two classroom contexts, but only with respect to the relationships between mastery-goal orientation and achievement, performance-goal orientation and achievement, and self-regulated learning and achievement. These differences suggest that mastery and performance goal orientation and use of self-regulated learning strategies contribute to achievement in different ways depending on the classroom contextItem Acknowledging attitudes and accessibility : motivational characteristics of deaf college students studying English and the potential of computer-mediated communication(2013-12) Garberoglio, Carrie Lou; Schallert, Diane L.Deaf individuals’ relationship with English has historically been problematic, in large part because of the lack of full accessibility to the language. However, language takes up not only communicative space, but also psychological space in our lives. The psychological dimensions involved with English language learning for deaf individuals are largely unknown. This study addressed this gap by exploring psychological dimensions involved with language learning for deaf individuals while concurrently exploring the role of computer-mediated communication in enhancing direct and interactive accessibility of English. The psychological dimensions of interest in this study originate from self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977), possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986), and the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009a). This study had three main goals: 1) to examine the motivational characteristics of deaf language learners, 2) to assess whether those characteristics would change over time, and 3) to assess the role of CMC in language learning experiences. This study took place over the course of a semester in college classes designed for deaf students studying English. Selected classes were asked to use online chat as an instructional tool. Measures were administered at the beginning and the end of the semester, and students were asked to participate in focus groups to discuss their experiences. A mixed methods approach that made use of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to capture the complexity involved in second language learning for the deaf student, including contextual influences. Overall findings indicate that deaf students’ self-images, self-efficacy beliefs, attitudes, and motivated behaviors about English were positive, but significantly influenced by the context in which language use occurs. When the environment was seen as accessible, beneficial, and enjoyable, deaf students were able to utilize greater levels of individual agency towards the aim of learning English. Computer-mediated communication emerged as an affordance that enabled “seeing English,” indicating dynamic, interactive engagement with English when ideal conditions were met. Thus, CMC appears to allow for a language learning experience that is available and accessible for deaf learners, and can provide opportunities to prime possible selves as English language users.Item Building students’ mathematics self-efficacy through student-teacher trust(2012-05) Harvey, Kristin Emilia; Borich, Gary D.; Suizzo, Marie-AnneA current national priority is improving secondary school mathematics performance. Middle school students’ trust in their mathematics teachers can lead to better relationships and increased feelings of competence, or mathematics self-efficacy, which is consistently linked to achievement. Student trust is based on perceptions of a teacher’s competence, benevolence, openness, reliability, and honesty. To determine the effect of trust in a teacher on student mathematics self-efficacy while accounting for the non-independence due to shared classroom experiences, hierarchical linear modeling will be utilized. Controlling for prior achievement, mathematics self-efficacy is expected to be higher for students who perceive their mathematics teacher meets more of the criteria for trust, with a stronger effect for low-achieving students. The implications of the outcomes of the proposed study suggest the creation of a training program to facilitate trust building between students and teachers. This report also includes an evaluation plan which details the components of the trust building program, a model for the program, and the proposed method to measure the reported outcomes.Item Comparison of experts and novices in problem-based learning for engineering education(2014-12) Heo, Damji; Schallert, Diane L.Ill-structured problems, problems that do not have simple structures and one finite correct solution, are the most common form of problems that engineers meet in everyday situations. However, because ill-structured problems and well-structured problems differ in many aspects, the curriculum of engineering education mostly focuses on well-structured problems, leading to the possibility that students might not apply the knowledge they have learned from school to the workplace after they graduate. Problem-based learning using ill-structured problems is more effective in teaching students to approach a solution for a task in a more expert-like way, by, for example, using analogical reasoning. In this study, novice participants who are majoring in Engineering and expert participants who are in the Civil or Mechanical Engineering fields are asked to solve ill-structured problems. The focus of analysis will be on the different types of analogies they use. Self-Efficacy will also be measured using a survey to observe if different levels of self-efficacy affect problem solving differently in the two groups, and if there is any relationship between types of analogies that each groups use and self-efficacy. The findings of this study would help to improve the curriculum of engineering education especially enhancing students’ cognitive strategy for engineering designs.Item Effects of childbirth preparation classes on self-efficacy in coping with labor pain in Thai primiparas(2008-05) Howharn, Chularat, 1970-; Dormire, Sharon L.The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of childbirth preparation classes on self-efficacy in coping with labor pain in Thai primiparas. The nonprobability convenience sample consisted of sixty primiparas assigned to either a control or an experimental group (thirty in each group). In order to prevent crosscontamination, all control group data were collected before initiating enrollment of the experimental group. The control group participants received standard care and education. Participants in the experimental group attended three childbirth classes over three consecutive weeks. Data were collected at the beginning of week 1 to establish a baseline (pretest), at the end of the third class which is the end of the intervention (posttest), and at 24-48 hours after delivery (follow-up) using a demographic form, postnatal data form, and the Childbirth Self-efficacy Inventory. Overall, experimental group self-efficacy expectancy increased dramatically across three data points. In contrast, control group self-efficacy expectancy decreased dramatically across three data points. There was an interaction between time of selfefficacy expectancy measurement and group, F(1.33, 71.77) = 6.34, p < .05. Selfefficacy expectancy in the experimental group was significantly different than that of the control group, F(1, 54) = 14.66, p < .001. Outcome expectancy findings were different than self-efficacy expectancy results. Control group outcome expectancy decreased dramatically across three data points while the experimental group selfefficacy increased after the class and then decreased after the birth but was higher than baseline. There was an interaction between time of outcome expectancy measurement and group, F(1.72, 935.18) = 4.83, p < .05. Data at the follow-up or 24-48 hours after delivery revealed that only one woman from the control group received an analgesic during the birthing process. The groups did not differ in duration of labor and type of delivery. These findings indicate partial effect of childbirth preparation classes on self-efficacy in coping with labor pain. The relatively small effect size reflects the high degree of variability in issues surrounding a woman's experience of pain and measures related to self-efficacy in coping with labor pain. Additional research in this population is needed.Item Effects of metacognition instruction on postsecondary student self-efficacy(2011-05) Roberts, Frank Warner; Svinicki, Marilla D., 1946-The current study proposes an examination of the effects of metacognitive prompting on participants’ self-efficacy when completing a computer-based algebra lesson. Participants will be randomly assigned from the Educational Psychology subject pool. The experimental design contains 4 conditions: before prompts, during prompts, after prompts, or none (control). The data will be analyzed using a one-way ANCOVA with the metacognitive prompt condition as the between subjects factor, the post-test self-efficacy scores serving as the dependent variable, and pre-test self-efficacy scores acting as the covariate.Item The effects of modeling influences and persuasive efficacy information on self-efficacy beliefs and intentions to prevent a friend from driving drunk(1994) Bradshaw, Jane Patrice, 1970-; Anderson, Ronald B.This study examined how people acquire information about their abilities to cope with subjectively threatening situations. Based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, this thesis investigated the use of mass and instructional media to convince audiences they are capable of regulating their health behavior by learning and practicing how to manage situations that are detrimental to it. Specifically, this study built on earlier studies that found that young adult moderate drinkers hold negative attitudes toward their friend's drunken driving but are reluctant to express their concerns to them because they lack confidence in their abilities to handle the situation properly. This study tested messages that seek to remove these constraints by assuring responsible drinkers they can perform this behavior successfully and that their friends will appreciate their concernItem The effects of symbolic modeling on self-efficacy beliefs to negotiate condom use among college-aged women(1996) Lake, Diane Rachel; Anderson, Ronald B.AIDS is a serious health threat to college-aged people, due to their risky sexual behavior. To date, there remains no cure for AIDS, thus the only available weapon against the disease is education. Studies show that college students have knowledge and awareness of AIDS, but still do not practice safer sex by using condoms. This study tests the effects of symbolic modeling, a component of self-efficacy theory, on college-aged women's beliefs of self-efficacy that they can negotiate condom use with their partners. The study consists of an experiment comparing two different types of symbolic modeling, verbal and behavioral, and testing for the effectiveness of each in raising participants' levels of self-efficacyItem Efficacy information and personality as predictors of self-efficacy beliefs and behavioral intentions in an alcohol campaign(1992) Isoya, Masami, 1961-; Anderson, Ronald B.Item An evaluation of the influence of computer-mediated communication on motivation, visualization of the self, learning experience, and self-efficacy in deaf students learning English as a second language(2012-12) Garberoglio, Carrie Lou; Borich, Gary D.; Schallert, Diane LComputer-mediated communication (CMC) has been shown to facilitate positive outcomes in language learning environments, including greater motivation, positive attitudes, and increased interactive quantity and quality of language use. This study posits that CMC can serve as an affordance that allows for increased opportunities for deaf students to engage in direct, collaborative learning and meaningful interaction in English that then allows for increased motivation, improved visualizations of the self, attitudes, and self-efficacy in English language learning. Changes in these outcomes due to the intervention of CMC in college English classes designed for the deaf student will be assessed with pre- and post-tests, using hierarchical linear modeling as a statistical methodology to capture class effects. Qualitative analyses will also capture greater levels of complexity in instructor and student experiences with CMC through interviews, observations, and transcript analysis. This report also includes an evaluation plan with an outline of the essential program components, a logic model, and analysis plan based on stakeholder questions.Item Exploring the individual and organizational effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion within North Carolina shelters(2011-12) Barnes, Suzanne Mallard; Streeter, Calvin L.; Ferguson, MiguelThis exploratory study examined the individual and organizational effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion on members of the homeless shelter community, including shelter directors, formerly homeless employees, professional employees, and shelter residents. The effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion on shelter residents' vicarious self-efficacy were specifically examined. A qualitative case study design was used to gather interview data from six homeless shelters in North Carolina. The interviewees included five shelter directors, three formerly homeless employees, and seven shelter residents. Professional boundary development was correlated with the impact of formerly homeless employee inclusion within the shelter community. There are more benefits than challenges to formerly homeless employee inclusion in homeless shelters. The challenges generally affected the formerly homeless employees themselves, sometimes to the point of addiction relapse. Formerly homeless employee inclusion provides the benefits of self-efficacy, tough love, and understanding and helping for shelter residents. Additional benefits were found for the formerly homeless employees. Benefits and challenges for professional employees were anecdotal and therefore not trustworthy. There are several major implications for professional practice resulting from this study. Shelter residents in the present study consistently viewed formerly homeless employee inclusion as positive. This positive experience may contribute to improved client engagement, retention, and outcomes. The challenges presented were infrequent, and considered manageable by the shelter directors. These findings may encourage other shelter directors to employ formerly homeless individuals, thereby benefitting others who are either experiencing or working to alleviate homelessness. Formerly homeless employee inclusion is also consistent with strengths-based practice and the social justice principle of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, as it provides meaningful opportunities for indigenous participation. Future research should focus on further understanding the correlation between formerly homeless employee inclusion and shelter resident outcomes and the effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion on professional shelter employees.Item How college students explain their grades in a foreign language course: the interrelationship of attributions, self-efficacy, language learning beliefs, and achievement(2004) Hsieh, Pei-hsuan; Schallert, Diane L.Research on self-efficacy has been extremely prolific in the past two decades with many researchers investigating the relationship between students’ self-efficacy and achievement in a wide variety of domains. Similarly, there has been a wealth of research examining the relationship between attribution and achievement. Self-efficacy are the beliefs people have about whether or not they can successfully complete a task while attributions are the beliefs people have for why they have or have not been successful at a task they have just completed. These two areas of beliefs and their effects on students’ achievement have seldom been researched together though they have each independently contributed to our understanding of how critical students’ appraisals of themselves can be for their success in school. Although studies have reported on how students make attributions in general and research has looked at students’ self-efficacy in areas such as math, science and sports, one domain has been surprisingly neglected, language learning. This study examined the general question of the relationship between foreign language learners’ attribution, self-efficacy beliefs, general language learning beliefs, and their achievement in foreign language classes. Quantitative methods were used to examine Weiner’s attribution theory and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory in the foreign language field. Participants were 500 undergraduates enrolled in Spanish, German, and French classes who were asked to fill out self-report questionnaires about their language learning beliefs, attitudes and motivation towards foreign language learning, and to provide attribution and self-efficacy ratings upon receiving two mid-semester exam grades. Results indicated that self-efficacy correlated positively with internal, personal, and stable attributions, and negatively with external attributions. In addition, self-efficacy correlated positively with ability and effort attributions, and negatively with luck and teacher attributions. Results also indicated that students who made internal or stable attributions for success had higher self-efficacy beliefs than students who made external or unstable attributions. Students who made unstable or internal attributions for failure also had higher self-efficacy than those who made stable or external attributions. Finally, students making internal attributions received higher grades than students making external attributions, and the same was true for students making personal as opposed to non-personal attributions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.Item Illness identity, experience, and perceptions as longitudinal predictors of adherence behaviors and health outcomes in adolescent Cystic Fibrosis(2021-05-07) Dell, Jordan Rebecca; Rodriguez, Erin M.People with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) experience considerable symptom and treatment burden on a daily basis. Airway Clearance Therapy (ACT) is one of the most time-consuming treatments and has low rates of adherence. Adherence behaviors are important to address in adolescence, as patients begin to take over responsibility from parents. However, adolescents with CF experience unique barriers to treatment adherence. Their symptoms and treatments can disrupt developmentally-appropriate pursuits like peer relationships and affect identity development. Illness identity describes distinct ways in which chronic illness can be integrated into a patient’s identity, with varying effects on mental health and treatment adherence. Patients’ experience of CF also alters their treatment adherence by affecting beliefs about the necessity and efficacy of their treatments. As such, improving treatment adherence may require considering not only the adolescents’ illness- and treatment-related beliefs, but also the experiences that have informed those beliefs. This study of 120 adolescents with CF recruited from a Central Texas medical center uses regression to determine whether past illness-related health, represented by average pulmonary function, predicts ACT adherence, and whether illness identity and treatment beliefs (Beliefs) mediate the relationship. The study also uses regression to assess whether ACT adherence mediates the relationship between past Beliefs and future pulmonary function. This study would allow clinicians to identify adolescents with uncontrolled illness-related health as at higher risk for developing future maladaptive Beliefs that could affect treatment adherence. It would also provide guidance on targeted interventions for adolescents with chronically poor treatment adherence that take their unique developmental stage into account.Item Information triage : dual-process theory in credibility judgments of web-based resources(2010-05) Aumer-Ryan, Paul R.; Dillon, Andrew; Robinson, Daniel H.; Bias, Randolph G.; Rice-Lively, Mary Lynn; Geisler, GaryThis dissertation describes the credibility judgment process using social psychological theories of dual-processing, which state that information processing outcomes are the result of an interaction “between a fast, associative information- processing mode based on low-effort heuristics, and a slow, rule-based information processing mode based on high-effort systematic reasoning” (Chaiken & Trope, 1999, p. ix). Further, this interaction is illustrated by describing credibility judgments as a choice between examining easily identified peripheral cues (the messenger) and content (the message), leading to different evaluations in different settings. The focus here is on the domain of the Web, where ambiguous authorship, peer- produced content, and the lack of gatekeepers create an environment where credibility judgments are a necessary routine in triaging information. It reviews the relevant literature on existing credibility frameworks and the component factors that affect credibility judgments. The online encyclopedia (instantiated as Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica) is then proposed as a canonical form to examine the credibility judgment process. The two main claims advanced here are (1) that information sources are composed of both message (the content) and messenger (the way the message is delivered), and that the messenger impacts perceived credibility; and (2) that perceived credibility is tempered by information need (individual engagement). These claims were framed by the models proposed by Wathen & Burkell (2002) and Chaiken (1980) to forward a composite dual process theory of credibility judgments, which was tested by two experimental studies. The independent variables of interest were: media format (print or electronic); reputation of source (Wikipedia or Britannica); and the participant’s individual involvement in the research task (high or low). The results of these studies encourage a more nuanced understanding of the credibility judgment process by framing it as a dual-process model, and showing that certain mediating variables can affect the relative use of low-effort evaluation and high- effort reasoning when forming a perception of credibility. Finally, the results support the importance of messenger effects on perceived credibility, implying that credibility judgments, especially in the online environment, and especially in cases of low individual engagement, are based on peripheral cues rather than an informed evaluation of content.Item Interpersonal influence on physical activity : mediation by psychological factors and moderation by personal characteristics(2010-05) Ripperger-Suhler, Kenneth Grant; Chalip, Laurence Hilmond, 1951-; Gottlieb, Nell H.; Bartholomew, John B.; Steinhardt, Mary; Kohl, Harold W.; Mirowsky, JohnThe primary purpose of the study was to identify relationships among sources of interpersonal influence, putative psychological mediators, and physical activity. The moderation of these relationships by age, body composition, and educational attainment was also evaluated. Responses from 1224 employees were collected through an online survey at a major healthcare facility in central Texas. Structural equation modeling was used to construct the Social Context Scale of Interpersonal Influence and to estimate its ability to explain intention to be physically active and predict physical activity behavior. Invariance testing provided estimates of moderation by age, education, and body composition. Home social context was positively associated with self-efficacy and positive anticipated outcomes and negatively associated with negative anticipated outcomes. Friend social context was positively associated with self-efficacy, positive anticipated outcomes, and intention. Teasing was positively associated with negative anticipated outcomes. Self-efficacy and positive anticipated outcomes were positively associated with intention. Negative anticipated outcomes were negatively associated with intention. The relationship between friend social context and both positive anticipated outcomes and intention was stronger for obese than non-obese respondents. Home social context was more strongly associated with self-efficacy for those with four year degrees than for those without. Self-efficacy was more strongly associated with intention for those with four year degrees than for those without. Self-efficacy predicted subsequent total leisure time physical activity and the relationship was stronger for respondents over 45 years of age than for those younger than 45. The association between self-efficacy and subsequent total leisure time physical activity was also stronger for respondents with a four year degree than for those without. Home and friend social contexts provide potential conduits for post intervention influence on physical activity behavior. The discussion of the benefits of physical activity among friends may encourage overweight and obese individuals considering exercise, especially those with limited physical activity experiences of their own.Item Language brokering among Latino middle school students : relations with academic achievement, self-efficacy, and acculturative stress(2010-05) Tedford, Sara Louise; Suizzo, Marie-Anne; Carlson, Cindy I.; Keith, Timothy Z.; Kim, Su Yeong; Valencia, Richard R.Child language brokers frequently translate in adult-level situations. Research has suggested that through translating, brokers may develop advanced language, cognitive, and social skills (De Ment, Buriel, and Villanueva, 2005; McQuillan and Tse, 1995), and these may lead to greater academic achievement and self-efficacy (Buriel, Perez, De Ment, Chavez,and Moran, 1998). Additionally, language brokers have been found to increase in biculturalism as they translate for people of different cultures (Acoach and Webb, 2004; Buriel et al., 1998). Brokers might experience reduced acculturative stress, for which biculturalism has been found to be a protective factor (Bacallao and Smokowski, 2005). Despite its possible benefits, brokering has been associated with negative emotions and behavioral problems for some children (Chao, 2006; Weisskirch and Alva, 2002). The mixed results of language brokering studies may partially be related to the age of participants, with translating appearing to be a more positive experience for older adolescents (Orellana and Reynolds, 2008). The purpose of this study was to test relations among language brokering, academic achievement, academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and acculturative stress. I proposed and tested if language brokering was associated with more positive outcomes. In addition, I tested if older brokers had more positive outcomes than younger brokers. Participants included 207 Latino middle school students, aged 10 to 14 years, who completed self-report surveys. Measures included a background demographics questionnaire and scales for language brokering, academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and acculturative stress. Achievement was measured with grades from school records. Results were non-significant for the relation of language brokering with achievement and social self-efficacy when controlling for other predictor variables. In contrast to expectations, translating for more people was associated with decreased academic self-efficacy and greater acculturative stress. Further analysis revealed that language brokering for parents and grandparents was associated with greater acculturative stress, while translating for other people was not. Although translating was associated with more acculturative stress, and older children reported less acculturative stress, age was not found to moderate the relation of language brokering and acculturative stress. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future directions in language brokering research and clinical work are presented.Item Museum visitors' self-efficacy and interest in contemporary art(2015-05) Wilson, Lauren Michelle; Schallert, Diane L.; Patall, Erika AContemporary art can pose a particular challenge for museum visitors to interpret, and psychological literature suggests that such challenge to self-efficacy may lower interest (Hong & Lin, 2013; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Schunk & Usher, 2008). This study sought to explore museum visitors’ interpretive strategies, feelings of self-efficacy, and interest. Factors including prior knowledge, interpretation support (e.g., labels), and challenge of artwork were also considered. Results discuss suggestions for museums when displaying works that may be perceived as challenging or unapproachable. Participants included visitors to the Blanton Museum of Art and students at the University of Texas at Austin who were pre-screened for prior knowledge of museums. Sessions occurred during the fall of 2014 and included completing questionnaires while viewing three works in the contemporary galleries. Students also participated in focus groups. Both quantitative and qualitative results confirmed predictions that interpretive self-efficacy and interest are related. Provision of labels did not show significant difference for self-efficacy or interest, but high prior knowledge of art did show increased levels of self-efficacy. A search for meaning and aesthetic observation and preference typically drove participant interpretations; most were highly personal. With low self-efficacy, participants struggled to interpret works and even considered pieces arbitrary. However, they enjoyed being challenged to interpret the work on their own before viewing the label. Participants responded particularly well to the idea of using interactive interpretive devices as a means of building understanding for works to which they may not otherwise be drawn. Overwhelmingly, low-prior-knowledge infrequent visitors wanted clear explanations of the artist's motive for creating the work and wanted the ability to visualize or even mimic the artistic process for creating each piece. Museums striving to increase interest in contemporary art for visitors should prioritize building self-efficacy through supportive interpretive strategies.Item Novice alternatively certified special education teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy to teach(2020-06-26) Sindaco, Eduardo D.; Olivárez, Rubén; Somers, Patricia A.; Sharpe, Jr., Edwin R.; Honore, Kristi K.The shortage of teachers, especially in specialized areas, such as special education, has prompted a shift in policy to expand the type of teacher preparation programs. Where once there existed only higher education preparation programs, today there are alternative routes to preparation and certification. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions and feelings of professional preparedness of alternatively certified special education teachers, as reflected in their initial years of practice. This study uses a mixed-methods research design and includes a survey and semi-structured interviews as the methodologies of choice. Findings from this study are: (1) novice traditionally certified teachers felt more thoroughly prepared to teach in the theoretical aspects of the profession (student learning pace, teaching to student multiple modalities, and student pedagogical knowledge) and making a direct positive impact on student learning and development; (2) novice alternatively certified novice teachers felt more prepared for the practical impact to student learning of the profession (multiple methods of assessment, instructional strategies, teaching a specialized curriculum, and using a core curriculum); and (3) overall, both sets of teachers felt that their initial program prepared them with the basic knowledge of the profession.Item Novice foreign language teachers' teaching efficacy beliefs and perceptions of professional support : a mixed-methods study(2011-12) Willard, Mitsi Pair; Svinicki, Marilla D., 1946-; Horwitz, Elaine K.; Salinas, Cinthia; LeMond, Malia; Palmer, DeborahSelf-efficacy is an individual’s judgment of the relative probability of her or his likely success in attaining desired outcomes (Bandura, 1977). For teachers, efficacy beliefs serve as an assessment of their own abilities to promote student learning. Efficacy beliefs are content-specific and are believed to form early in teachers’ professional careers. While studies on teachers’ sense of efficacy have examined content areas such as math and science (Mulholland & Wallace, 2001; Riggs & Enochs, 1990), very little research has been conducted to explore the perceived efficacy beliefs of beginning foreign language (FL) teachers. Using a mixed methods approach, this investigation explored factors influencing the teaching efficacy beliefs of FL teachers in a major urban school district in north Texas, as well as the potential relationship between their perceptions of efficacy and professional support. Quantitative data included surveys of FL teachers’ efficacy beliefs and perceptions of support. Qualitative data was comprised of case studies, including interviews, observations, and documents collected from four novice FL teachers, all of whom entered the classroom via alternative routes to certification. Cross-case analyses suggest that FL teachers often felt their content area was devalued by administrators, colleagues, and students as a result of its status as a non-tested content area. The efficacy beliefs of the novice FL teachers were influenced in part by contextual factors of their respective schools, including professional isolation as a result of being the only FL teacher on campus, support of colleagues, and the availability of time and resources. Because the four case study participants lacked the benefit of traditional university-based certification, they demonstrated tendencies to rely on their “selected memories,” making sense of their role(s) as teacher via the perspective acquired when they were students. Findings of the study suggest that FL teachers often experience “Stepchild Syndrome,” marked by professional isolation, a lack of relevant professional development opportunities, and a shortage of pertinent resources for FL teaching. The speculative nature of alternatively certified FL teachers’ efficacy beliefs is also examined. The study draws implications for supporting beginning FL teachers, particularly those who enter the profession through alternative routes.