Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Over the years, parents and other caretakers as well as students themselves have been so much

concerned with the success lives of their wards and themselves in the academic terrain. Students

themselves strive so hard and put in their best in order to succeed in their various academic

endeavours. However, most students, despite the availability of the requisite materials and

instruments, conducive atmosphere, effective tutoring methods, motivation (Bandura, 1997) from

parents and teachers, attitude (Schibeci & Riley, 1986), aptitude (Schunk, 1991 in Witt-Rose, 2003),

etc, fall at the extremities of the expected performance. This does not just momentarily occur but

may be consistent and repetitive across board whenever an individual is presented with tasks related

to a specific academic area (e.g. mathematics or science test). That is to say that, an individual given

some specific conditions may or may not perform beyond the average or the normal frame in the

execution of some specific tasks. In the words of Walberg (2003 in Xin, 2010), learning is

fundamentally a psychological process influenced by student personal variables such as prior

achievement, age, gender, self-concept, motivation and learning strategies, instructional variables

related to the amount of time for learning and quality of instructional experience as well as the

psychological environmental variables related to the home, teacher/classroom, peers and media

exposure.

Such occurrences have been attributed to factors as self-perceptions or self-beliefs which according

to House (2001) are significantly related to achievement outcome. These self-beliefs are thus seated

in our cognitions. As Bandura (1995) puts it, our cognitive processes allow us some control in

selecting situations we operate in and in creating or transforming situations. Thus, whether an

outperformance or underperformance would occur, to some extent, is controlled and determined by

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

the individual himself which is also a function of his own judgemental beliefs. Therefore, the beliefs

that individuals create, develop and hold to be true about themselves form the very foundation of

their human agency and are therefore very vital forces in their success or failure in all their academic

pursuits (Graham & Weiner, 1996).

Bandura once again posits that, individuals are proactive and self-regulating but not absolutely

reactive or passive to situations. Hence, our self-beliefs to a larger extent play a very vital role

towards the achievement outcome in our various human endeavours (Bandura, 1997). It has also

been established that individuals create and develop self-perceptions of capability that become

instrumental to the goals they pursue and also to the control they exercise over their environment.

These self-referent beliefs influences how we think, feel, motivate ourselves, make choices and

eventually act (Bandura, 1992).

Based on these concepts of self-beliefs, a lot of propositions have emerged and most of them see the

various self-beliefs with their associated feelings of positivity or negativity as being controlled by

human cognitions. These cognitive processes, coupled with other environmental factors are captured

in several concepts that may improve or hamper the individual’s performance on a given task. Some

of such concepts include Self-efficacy which Albert Bandura in 1997 used to encapsulate people’s

beliefs in their capabilities to execute a specific task. It is a kind of self-appraisal which lifts or

diminishes a person’s way of going about things by instilling in him or her some kind of confidence

or self-doubt. It is this confidence that is likely to affect subsequent performances since beliefs of

personal competence help determine the choices one makes as well as the outcomes expected.

Individuals who are confident anticipate successful outcomes and those with doubts in their

competency begin to feel uneasy leading to poor performances (Pajares & Schunk, 2001). Self-

efficacy is therefore people’s belief that they have behavioural competence in a particular situation.

In the words of Bandura, perceived self-efficacy is the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

execute a particular course of action required to manage prospective situations (Bandura, 1997). The

personal beliefs of efficacy have been known to correlate with academic achievements to a larger

degree. For instance, in a study of 391 students by Pajares and Miller (1995), students earlier

reported confidence was a powerful predictor of their performance on a mathematics test.

At the outset of an activity, students differ in their efficacies for learning and it is normally a

function of their prior experiences, personal qualities and social support which include the extent to

which their parents and teachers encourage them to learn, facilitate their access to resources

necessary for learning, and teach them self-regulatory strategies that enhance skill acquisition and

refinement. (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara and Pastorelli, 1996). Self-efficacy is not about the skills

that one possesses, rather, it is about putting the skills into a meaningful use in a specific situation.

Bandura posited ways by which these confident-beliefs are acquired and among them involve the

following: mastery experiences whereby an individual’s past accomplishments, failures or successes

create a mental picture and predicts his or her willingness and ability to confidently face subsequent

tasks. Another source involves what he terms as vicarious learning whereby seeing other people

being able to perform a task or not motivates or discourages an individual when he is faced with

similar tasks. Moreover, when people are verbally motivated, they are more likely to develop and

strengthen their self-beliefs, depending on whether the motivation is positive or negative. Finally,

physiological and emotional states such as anxiety, stress, fatigue, etc was the last thing he found to

either improve or hamper self-beliefs.

The other side of self-belief that is proposed and has been reiterated mostly by humanistic

psychologists to be influential in an individual’s behavioural output is what is termed as “self-

esteem”. The humanistic psychologists and several others including Morris Rosenberg, Carl Rogers,

Abraham Maslow, etc were among the very people who placed so much emphasis on this variable.

To them, it is a kind of value judgement that an individual accords him or herself. This concept is

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

said to be the feeling that one possesses after specific situational encounters and it could be either

positive or negative (high or low) depending on the feedback one obtains from his or her graders.

According to Rosenberg (1965, in Harris, 2009), it is described as a favourable or unfavourable

attitude toward one’s self. Self-esteem is generally considered as the evaluative component of the

self-concept, a broader representation of the self that includes cognitive and behavioural aspects as

well as affective ones (Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991). Coopersmith (1967) describes self-esteem as

involving an attitude of approval or disapproval which indicates the extent to which the individual

believes himself to be capable, significant, successful and worthy. In short, self-esteem is a personal

judgment of worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes the individual hold about him or herself. An

individual’s negative attitude and beliefs toward himself causes a lot psychological instabilities

which may even cause him to drop out school, job, competition, etc.

Research has documented the important role high self-esteem plays in academic achievement, social

and personal responsibilities (Redenbach, 1991). For people of all ages, the development of full

human potential is enhanced through high self esteem. High self esteem can begin to develop when

the acceptance of all individuals and their personal or group contributions are recognized and

applauded, especially in a multi-culturally diverse world (Redenbach, 1991). Self–esteem is one of

the key ingredients that affect the level of proficiency in all fields of endeavour. Self-esteem has been

correlated to job success, school achievement, interpersonal compatibility and general happiness

(Redenbach, 1991). For instance, Covington (1989) reported that as the level of self-esteem

increases, there is a corresponding increase achievement scores while a decrease also correlates to

decline in achievement scores.

Most senior high school students (adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18) belong to the group

which according to Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development, is known as “identity versus role

confusion” which is characterised by the question “who am I”. Thus, the individual becomes so

much concerned with self-identity and tries whatever means possible in search of approval by

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

identifying with his peers and other significant others. The feedbacks received are the very things

that to a larger extent instigate higher sense of esteem or otherwise and other related self beliefs

needed for a healthy personality development. Positive appraisals are what most adolescents crave

for and if they are able to get it from their instructors, their self-perceptions are likely to enhance and

might therefore improve performance academically. Failure or inability to achieve these positivities

limits one’s sense of worth which directly or indirectly may hamper or decrease performance on a

task.

Gender wise, researchers report that boys and men tend to be more confident than girls and women

in academic areas related to mathematics, science, and technology (Pajares & Miller, 1994).

Conversely, in areas related to language arts, male and female students exhibit similar confidence

levels, despite the fact that the achievement of girls mostly typically is higher (Pajares, 1994).

Kiamanesh, Hejazi and Zahra (2004) have also found males and females to be significantly different

in terms of maths self-efficacy and maths performance.

1.2 Problem Statement

Most human behaviours, being purposive, are regulated by the forethought that embodies their goals.

These personal goal settings are influenced by self-appraisal of capabilities. Thus, the stronger the

perceived self-efficacy and self-esteem, the higher the goal challenges that people set for themselves

and the firmer they remain committed to them. These higher levels also correlate in a higher degree

to the outcome expectations that they set. This means that, most of the courses of human action are

initially organized in thought and that people’s beliefs in their capabilities and self-value judgement

shape the types of anticipatory scenarios they construct and rehearse.

However, it has been established that the feedback from our previous performances or actions to a

larger extent contributes to the performance an individual subsequently puts up (Bandura, 1997).

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

Positive appraisals are likely to instigate a more and reinforcing output while a negative evaluation is

likely to demean one’s self beliefs in executing a course of action. Once the individual is satiated

with the positive feedback, his level of confidence is enhanced, leading to an increase in his or her

self-capabilities in doing more. The good feeling also promotes his self-esteem and establishes it on a

recommendable pedestal. Intrinsic motivation from this good feeling is believed to empower him to

work even harder and achieve more in order that feedbacks would strengthen the self-capability and

worth feeling. Thus, this reciprocal function of these variables goes to confirm the Behaviourist

proposition of stimulus–response-reinforcement relationship which motivates or diminishes a

particular behavioural output.

In Ghana, just like most West African countries most students have been found to be performing

poorly on mathematics examinations which are a part of the pre-requisites for entry into higher

institutions such as the universities, polytechnics and training colleges. Student’s performance in

mathematics both locally and internationally in Ghana have not been good (Duedu, Atakpa,

Dzinyela, Sokpe & Davis, 2007; WEAC, 2006; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, 2004 in

Bishop & Seah, 2009). However, due to these abysmal performances exhibited by some of the

students, only a limited number of them are able to proceed to the next levels on their educational

ladder. This problem has been confirmed by the increasing number of students who constantly fail

and re-sit for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) organized by

the West African Examinations Council. In Nigeria for instance, out of the 310,077 candidates who

sat for the November-December WASSCE in 2010, 62,139 students representing 20.04% were able

to sail through mathematics and other tertiary pre-requisite courses successfully as compared to

23.54% in 2008 and 21.96% in 2009 (information Nigeria.org, 2010).

In Ghana, performance on mathematics and other related courses have been no different from that of

other sister countries. The WAEC’s statistics on mathematics performance on May/June WASSCE

from 2007 to 2009 (Essibu, 2011), suggested that, the capability to work out mathematics problems

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

effectively leaves a lot of contemplations behind. Students’ performance indicated a very weak

outcome on mathematics. The percentages that represent failure (i.e. grade D7 to F9) from 2007 to

2009 are 88.54, 72.40 and 70.87 respectively. The November/December remedial statistics for that

same period were 70.87%, 69.04% and 86.18% respectively. These statistics suggest that, there is

still much work to be done if we want our students to shoot up equally to meet the standards of other

students found in other parts of the world.

However, it looks as if limited study has been done so far in Ghana to look into this problem. One

may also wonder whether these instances of failure and poor performances only result from the

physical elements which are assumed to be responsible for better academic delivery or some

mechanisms peculiar to the individual lie beyond that.

It is therefore crucial to take into consideration the relationship between cognitive mechanisms which

is a key element in issues related to self-beliefs and learning. This topic has been subjected to less

attention in Ghana and that it seems it’s about time we took cognisance of it so that our students

could be taught and enlightened on how relevant it is to develop positive self-concepts.

1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study

The main issues that this work sought to address were

 To find out if our sense of self-judgement and self-beliefs really have any relationship with our

output as students on academic tasks or performances.

 To examine the roles played by perceived self-efficacy and self-esteem (self-beliefs) in student’s

academic achievement and development.

 To identify whether differences exist in levels of self-efficacy and self-esteem with respect to

gender.

 To identify some of the possible causes of such differences if any.

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

 Finally to put forth some possible measures of curbing efficacy and esteem deficits in individuals.

1.4 Relevance of the Study

This study would help to draw educationists and other stakeholder’s attention to those internal

elements peculiar to the individual in the realization of the totality of his or her potentials with

respect to academic pursuits. It would afford the opportunity to look beyond only external stimuli

such as reinforcement or rewards and punishments as the sole probable determinants of a behavioural

output. It would also instigate schools and teachers to realize the need to go beyond teaching only

intellectual skills and focus on fostering student’s personal development of self-beliefs and self-

regulatory capacities to educate and conduct themselves throughout their lifetime. It would also

inspire parents and teachers to be insightful observers of their wards so that they would be able to

identify their shortfalls and effect the necessary remedial measures by providing the necessary and

adequate platform for the students to express their ideas, feelings and visions. The necessary

corrections would therefore be required from these significant others in order that, individuals, right

from the onset of development would be checked, helped and elevated to standards needed for better

and outstanding accomplishments. Educational policy makers would also be motivated and

conscientized with respect to programmes and disciplines that could instil higher levels of positive

self-beliefs in students. Finally, assessing variations in efficacy beliefs and esteem feelings with

respect to age would help one to know how to conduct and portray himself as he climbs the ladder of

ageing or growth. In short, stakeholders in education would come to appreciate classroom and other

educational dynamics the more, acknowledge individual differences and also be able to some extent

identify the possible cause of a particular student’s predicament. This piece of work is hoped to add

on to the existing literature as far as this area of study is concerned.

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Theoretical Framework

This current work is grounded in Albert Bandura’s Social-Cognitive theory of Reciprocal

Determinism which emphasizes on the triadic reciprocity model symbolizing the relationship

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

between personal factors (cognition, emotion & biological events), behavioural and environmental

factors (Maddux, 1995 in Marat, 2005) in determining an individual’s behavioural output. In general,

Bandura (1997) provided a view of human behaviour in which beliefs that people have about

themselves become key elements in their exercise of control and in which individuals are viewed as

both products and producers of their own behaviour. In effect, he suggests that formulating positive

beliefs or perceptions about one’s self have far reaching consequences on the outcome of the person’s

actions.

Erik Erikson (1963) in his theory of psychosocial development showed that successful social

development is characterized by increasing competence across all tasks, be it social interactions,

academic skills, etc. To him, success brings with itself a sense of industry and good feelings about

one’s self and abilities. Failure creates a negative self image or sense of inadequacy that hinders

future learning (Boateng, 2009). Thus, positive appraisals from past accomplishments are more likely

to boost one’s confidence as well as esteem levels leading to an upward adjustment in related tasks

performed.

Finally, from the humanistic angle, self-esteem has been considered as an essential component of

good mental health and healthy personality development. Abraham Maslow in 1954 postulated his

theory of need of which he stressed so much on self-esteem among other variables such as

physiological, safety, social and actualization to be affecting human behaviour. The esteem needs

according to Tagoe (2009) is made up of self-esteem, achievement, independence, status and

managerial skills. According to Maslow, the individual is always challenged to self-actualize, that is,

to realize his full potential in all his endeavours. The ability or inability to attain or achieve these

needs one after the other may create positive or negative feelings which in the long run may affect

performance.

It refers to an individual’s sense of value or worth, or the extent to which a person values, approves

of, appreciates, prices or likes him or herself (Blascovich & Tomka, 1991 in Harris, 2009). Self-

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

esteem is a set of attitudes and beliefs that a person brings with him or herself when facing the world.

It includes beliefs as to whether he or she can expect success or failure, how much effort should be

put forth, whether failure at a task will “hurt,” and whether he or she will become more capable as a

result of difficult experiences (Coopersmith, 1967, 1981). In basic terms, self-esteem is an internal

belief system that an individual possesses about himself or herself.

2.2 Review of Related Works

Researchers have been successful in demonstrating that self-efficacy beliefs are positively related to

and influence academic achievement and that these beliefs mediate the effect of skills, previous

experience, mental ability or other self-beliefs on subsequent achievement. A meta-analysis of

studies published between 1977 and 1988 revealed that efficacy beliefs were positively related to

academic achievement (Multon, Brown, & Lent, 1991). Self-efficacy beliefs were related to

academic outcomes and accounted for approximately 14% of the variance. Effects were stronger for

high school and college students than for elementary student’s grades. With standardized

achievement tests, a finding that supports the context-specific nature of self-efficacy beliefs was

established. As with self-concept, researchers have demonstrated that when self-efficacy beliefs

correspond to the academic outcome with which they are compared, prediction is enhanced and the

relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance is positive and strong (Pajares &

Miller, 1994, 1995, 1997).

In a study that investigated the relationships among self-efficacy, self-esteem, previous performance

accomplishments and academic performance among a sample of 205 postgraduate students, Lane,

Lane and Kyprianou (2004) made participants complete measures of past performance

accomplishments, self-esteem, and self-efficacy at the start of a 15-week course. Each student's

average grade from modules studied was used as the performance measure. Correlation results

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

indicated significant relationships between self-efficacy and self-esteem. Multiple regression results

indicated that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between performance accomplishments and

academic performance. Findings lend support to the predictive effectiveness of self-efficacy

measures in academic settings.

Another study that investigated the relationships between self-efficacy, gender, age, and academic

achievement in a two-year college science course, anatomy and physiology was carried out by Witt-

Rose in 2003. A confidential self-report survey was administered to 216 students to measure their

self-efficacy levels. Most students had moderate to high levels of self-efficacy in anatomy and

physiology. A potential relationship between gender and self-efficacy was studied but no significant

relationship was found between them. A connection between age and self-efficacy was also

examined to determine whether differences existed in self-efficacy between traditional college

students (18 to 24 years of age) and non-traditional college students (greater than 24 years of age).

No significant findings linked age to self-efficacy. Finally, the relationship between self-efficacy

level and academic achievement was investigated. Students’ midterm and final grades on the course

were used as the measure of academic achievement. Of 216 survey respondents, 158 released their

grades for the study. ANOVA results comparing self-efficacy to both midterm and final grades

showed highly significant positive relationship between self-efficacy and academic achievement.

Sandra Harris (2009) has posited a positive relationship between self-esteem and performance of

engineering students in a college. This, she found in her analysis of the relationship between self-

esteem and academic success among 260 African-American college students. Using the Coopersmith

self-esteem scale, personal worth information was collected and responses were compared with

student’s Grade Point Average. Findings revealed that respondents with higher grade point averages

apparently scored higher on the esteem measure.

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

In a paradoxical analysis of the relationship between student achievement and self-perception,

Shen and Tam (2008) gathered data from within country and between countries 8 th grader’s maths

and science achievements and their self-perceptions on the two subjects. Correlation results

established a positive relationship between student achievement and their self-perception which was

measured along three parameters involving how much they like the two subjects, their self-perceived

competence in the subjects, and their perceived easiness of the subjects with respect to within-

country analysis. However, in a between-country analysis, the relationship was opposite. More

specifically, when the same three self-perception measures were aggregated at the country level,

there was a negative relationship between self-perceptions and achievement.

Moreover, with respect to gender, it is generally asserted to impact upon the growth,

demonstration and manifestation of self esteem (Naderi, Abdullah, Aizan, Sharir & Kumar, 2009)

and in analysing whether any relationship exists between gender and self-esteem as well as

academic achievement among Iranian undergraduate students in Malaysian universities, their

findings indicated that although self-esteem indicates a strong significant relationship with

academic achievement when gender is controlled, there is no relationship between self esteem and

academic achievement. In other words, a significant difference between gender and self-esteem was

observed after comparing their scores on the Persian version of the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale

against their academic achievement measured through their Cumulative Grade point average.

This finding is in consonance with several others which have established relationships between

student’s self-beliefs and performance. For instance, (Pajares & Miller, 1994; Pajares, 1996) have

shown that gender influences the beliefs in math performance. Abadani (2006) also posits a

significant difference in self esteem between males and females.

Again, Samsilah, Heap King, Hj.Mahyudin, and Tarmizi, (2007) investigated into the relationship

between mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics performance. In their assessment of 339 high

school students between ages 15 and 17, Pearson’s product correlation suggested that, maths self-

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

efficacy is positively and significantly correlated to achievement. The results showed that those

higher on maths self-efficacy were more likely to achieve better results mathematically.

Finally, Klomegah (2007) examined several factors which are perceived to be predictors of

academic performance among university students. He utilized the goal-efficacy model to examine the

extent to which index scores of student self-efficacy, self-set goals, assigned goals, and ability could

predict academic performance. 103 undergraduate students in North Carolina University completed

self-administered questionnaires voluntarily. For analysis, correlation was carried out to estimate the

association between the independent variables (ability, self-efficacy, self-set goals, and assigned

goals) and the dependent variable (course grade). He concluded that high school grade point average

and student self-efficacy were strongly correlated and that self-efficacy also correlated with academic

performance at the university. Of the four variables in the goal-efficacy model, self-efficacy had the

strongest predictive power. There was a moderately positive correlation between self-efficacy and

course grade.

2.3 Rationale for the Study

Most measures toward the enhancement of quality classroom dynamics have focused so much on

physical infrastructure, teacher and student motivation, stocking of libraries, good teaching

strategies, etc. Unfortunately, little attention is given to the internal structures or elements within an

individual which may enhance or hamper his abilities to learn adequately, in order that, better

performances could be put up in case of any trial. This study therefore was conducted to examine the

possible or actual relationships that exist between a person’s cognitive processes and his behavioural

output. That is, the relationships among self-efficacy, self-esteem and the related academic

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

performance. Moreover, such studies seem not to have been given much attention in Ghana as

compared to other Western and American countries. Therefore, this is intended to note how relevant

those internal mechanisms affect our academics in the Ghanaian context.

2.4 Statement of Hypotheses

Based on the few literature reviewed, the following hypotheses were tested.

 Self-efficacy will be significantly related to academic success.

 Self-esteem will significantly correlate with academic success.

 Males will be highly efficacious than females.

 Males will have high self-esteem than females.

2.5 Operational Definition of terms

Perceived self-efficacy – the confidence individuals have in their abilities that

they can successfully perform particular tasks

(Bandura, 1997)

Self-esteem - a person’s judgement about his or her personal worth

Academic achievement - success in a class based on test scores or grades

High academic performance - a score of 50% to 100% on the maths test

Low academic performance - 0-49 % on the maths test

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Population/ Sample

The study was conducted at Collins Senior High School, Agogo, in the Asante Akyem North

Municipality of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It had the entire students of the School as the

population. The final year Art students who offer mathematics as a core but not elective constituted

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

the entire sample frame. This category of students was chosen for its homogeneity. In all, hundred

(100) students ranging from the ages of sixteen (16) to twenty-two (22) were randomly selected as

the sample for the study. The sample was made up of 50 males and 50 females respectively.

3.2 Instruments/ Materials

The major instruments for gathering the quantitative data were a standardized questionnaire of self-

efficacy, Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale and a mathematics test. The efficacy questionnaire (maths-

efficacy questionnaire) was adopted from Samsilah, Heap King, Hj.Mahyudin and Tarmizi (2007).

The self-efficacy scale was constructed in their assessment of the relationship existing between

mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics performance. It is a 15 item questionnaire which

measures the individual’s perceived confidence levels on mathematics tasks. The scale involves

twelve (12) positively and three (3) negatively worded items. Even though this scale has not been

used in Ghana before, it was chosen for its higher reliability level (0.76). After a careful checking

and verification of all the questions by a panel of lecturers at Universiti Putra Malaysia, an alpha

coefficient of 0.87 resulted as its validity. These coefficients were substantiated by examining 339

high school students between the ages of 15 and 17 in Malaysia in the year 2007. The alpha values

seem to show a higher degree of consistency in using the scale, hence, its adoption. Samples of the

questionnaire include the following; “I’m certain I can master the Mathematics skills taught in class

this year”, “no matter how hard I try, there are some mathematics problems I’ll never understand”, “I

can do even the hardest Mathematics problem in the class if I try”, “if I have enough time, I can do a

good job on all my mathematics class work”, “I can do almost all the mathematics problems if I

don’t give up”, “Even if mathematics is hard, I can learn it”, etc.

The 10 item Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale was also administered to the subjects in addition to take

subject’s responses in relation to how they feel about themselves. According to Shobhna and

Srivastava (2009), Rosenberg in 1965 reported a reliability and validity coefficients of 0.92 and 0.72

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

respectively for the scale, after his analysis of a sample size of 5024 high school juniors and seniors

from 10 randomly selected schools in New York State of the United States of America. However,

several test-retest reliabilities by subsequent researchers such as Blascovich and Tomka (1993), have

established a correlation coefficient of between 0.82 and 0.88 suggesting that its reliability level is

reasonable, hence, its adoption ( Wikipedia, 2010). Some of the items include such questions as “I

feel that I have a number of good qualities", "I am able to do things as well as most other people" and

"At times I think I am no good at all", etc.

The final instrument was a mathematics test which was designed in accordance with the current

mathematics syllabus of the Ghana Education Service for Senior High Schools. This was designed by

the head of the mathematics department of the school who has been teaching the course for fifteen

(15) years. The mathematics scale covered a wide range of topics that are prescribed by the Ghana

Education Service and at the same time, used by the West African Examinations Council to examine

students. Some of the topics captured included logarithms, factorization, angles, vectors, circle

theorem, transformation and mensuration. Pens, pencils and erasers were used to carry out writing

activities.

The questionnaire was made up four sections. Section I was responsible for biographical data whiles

section II was used for taking efficacy data. The third section also assessed self- esteem information

whiles the fourth and final part contained the maths test which assessed mathematics performance.

3.4 Design

The study made was a survey. One hundred (100) students were selected randomly and were

administered the questionnaire to respond to.

3.5 Procedure

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

First of all, an introductory letter was taken from the Psychology department of the University of

Ghana and sent to the school. After seeking an approval from the administration, 100 students were

randomly sampled from the final year General Arts classes. After briefly introducing my motive, it

was made clear to the students that this research was solely for academic purposes and that personal

information would not be associated with responses. All personal information, they were told, would

be kept confidential as well.

Stratified sampling technique was used to categorise the sample frame into male and female stratum

respectively. Each of the stratum consisted of 60 students giving 120 students in all. Simple random

sampling was employed to cut the number down to 100 with 50 each in all the categories. This was

done by allowing students to pick from a list of items worded, “yes” and “no”. These items were

structured in such a way that there was a fair representation of both sexes and other subject variables

such as age, etc. This means that, picking “yes” or “no” included and excluded a student from the

participating group respectively. Instructions were read out to them. The various terminologies such

as “self-efficacy” and “self-esteem” were explained to them in order to ensure familiarity with the

concepts. Students or subjects were supposed to indicate their responses to the various questions that

the researcher had posed to them. Students indicated the levels to which they felt confident on the

questions that were stated in the first section of the questionnaire. Secondly, they indicated their

levels of agreement to various statements that were posited in the second section of the

questionnaire. After about ten minutes break, students responded to the last section of the

questionnaire. Here, the students were given five mathematics questions to answer. They were

supposed to indicate the step by step procedure involved in the overall solution of the questions.

In all, the three sets of data were collected with the assistance of three teachers of the school within a

time frame of about two hours, thirty minutes (2 hrs, 30 mins).

3.5 Scoring of Data

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

This process took care of the transformation of the qualitative data collected into a quantitative one.

Thus, different values or figures were assigned to each response on the various scales.

On the efficacy scale, there were 15 items to which student’s responses were taken on a five-point

Likert scale ranging from highly confident, through to confident, moderately confident, not confident

and not confident at all. The various responses were assigned the values 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0 respectively.

With the exception of items 7, 12 and 14 which were negatively worded, and thus, were scored in the

reverse direction (0, 1, 2, 3 & 4), the other thirteen items were scored positively. A score attracted a

minimum mark of zero (0) or a maximum of four (4) depending on an individual’s level of

confidence indicated. Thus, the overall score one could get minimally and maximally were 0 and 60

respectively.

The esteem scale took student’s responses on a four-point Likert scale which ranged from strongly

agree, through agree, disagree and strongly disagree. The four conditions attracted a score of 3, 2, 1

and 0 respectively. Items 1, 3, 4, 7 and 10 were positively worded while 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9 were worded

negatively and thus, their responses attracted the scores of 0, 1, 2 and 3 respectively. On the whole,

the least one could score was 0 as against the highest which was 30.

Finally, the mathematics performance test was made up of five (5) open-ended questions to which

subjects indicated the various steps and the right methodologies involved in arriving at the correct

answer. The correct indication of the step by step procedure or the method for each question coupled

with the correct answer attracted twenty marks (20). Thus, scoring all on the five questions would

attract hundred (100) marks. Failure or inability to lay down the right methodologies as well as the

correct answers earned a mark of zero (0). However, it must be noted that, the scoring was done in

terms of percentages.

In all, scores on the various scales were compared for the right conclusions to be made.

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

3.8 Analysis of Data

The SPSS software (Version 16.0) was used in the analysis of the data for the appropriate

conclusions to be drawn. The Pearson’s “r” was used to compute and analyse the relationships

between self-efficacy, self-esteem and academic achievement. That is to say that, correlation was

used to determine the relationships existing among hypothesis 1 as well as hypothesis 2. In

hypothesis 3 and 4, the independent “t” test was used for the various computations. This stems from

the fact that the means of the samples that were drawn randomly from the populations of males and

females (gender) were different and independent of each other.

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

The study investigated the relationship or the influence of self-efficacy and self-esteem on the

academic performance of students using samples from Collins Senior High School. The version 16.0

of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (S.P.S.S) was used for the analysis and testing of

the various hypotheses stated.

The first section contains the summary of the descriptives (means, standard deviations, demographic

variables as well as the minimum and maximum scores on the various variables) of the various

independent and dependent variables involved.

The second section involves the summary of the inferential statistics and the various hypotheses to be

tested. Pearson’s correlation (r) was used to test hypotheses 1 and 2. Hypotheses 3 and 4 were also

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

tested by using the independent samples t test. The overall summary of the findings constitute the

third part of the section.

The Pearson correlation (r) was adopted for the testing because of the interest in the perceived

relationship that exists among self-efficacy, self-esteem and academic performance. The independent

t was also adopted for the reason being that, gender, which is categorized into males and females, is

being compared against levels of self-efficacy and self-esteem. Thus, males and females are viewed

to comprise of two distinct populations. These populations were compared on their self-efficacy as

well as self-esteem levels respectively.

In all, there were three main variables involved which include self-efficacy, self-esteem and

academic performance. The level of measurement used was assumed to be on an interval scale and

decision pertaining to the acceptance or rejection of the hypotheses was set at 0.05 level of

significance for hypotheses 3 and 4 and 0.01 for hypotheses 1 and 2.

The table below represents the descriptive statistics for the various variables and groups.

4.1 Descriptive Statistics

Variables N Minimum Maximum Mean (M) SD

Self-efficacy 100 30 57 43.73 5.358
Self-esteem 100 13 30 22.82 3.494
Performance 100 2 90 57.16 13.218
Age 16 22 19 -

Gender Males 50 - - - -
Females 50 - - - -

Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistic summary of Self-efficacy, Self-esteem, Academic

performance, Gender and Age

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In the table above, measures of central tendency were computed to summarize the data variables of

self-efficacy, self-esteem and academic performance. Variability of scores on the various variables

was also considered (standard deviation). Demographic variables associated with the subject s were

also summarized (age and gender). It could be observed that 100 subjects (N =100) were involved in

the study. The subjects consisted of 50 males 50 females. On the self-efficacy scale, the overall

minimum score was 30 whiles the maximum was 57. A mean (M) score of 43.73 was attained for the

self-efficacy measure with a standard deviation (SD) of 5.358. The mean (M) score on self-esteem

was 22.82 with a standard deviation (SD) of 3.494. On academic performance, the minimum score

was 2% and the maximum score was 90%. The average performance score was 57.16%. The subjects

were aged between 16 and 22.

4.2 Hypothesis Testing

From the literature reviewed in chapter two, the following hypotheses were stated and tested and the

findings are also reported below. Pearson’s product moment correlation was used to test for the

relationship that was posited among self-efficacy, self-esteem and academic performance in

hypotheses 1 and 2.

H1: “self-efficacy will be significantly related to academic success”.

H2: “self-esteem will significantly correlate with academic success”

Table 4.2 Pearson’s correlation among Self-efficacy, Self-esteem and Academic performance

Variables Self-esteem Performance

Self-efficacy 0.373** 0.387**

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

Self-esteem 0 .197*

**P<0.01 *p<0.05

The above table indicates the extent to which self-efficacy and self-esteem relates to academic

performance. It indicates the strength of the relationships that exist among the various variables. At

an alpha level of 0.01, self-efficacy showed positive relationships with self-esteem as well as

academic performance. Although, the relationships observed take a positive dimension, they could be

seen weak ones.

From table 4.2, hypothesis two (H1) was supported. The Pearson product-moment correlation results

indicated a positive and significant relationship between maths self-efficacy and mathematics

performance (r = 0.387, p<0.01).

Hypothesis two (H2) was also confirmed. Table 4.2 indicates a positive relationship between self-

esteem and academic performance. Correlation was also significant (r = 0.197, p<0.05), hence, the

hypothesis is supported.

There was however a positive and significant relationship between self-efficacy and self-esteem

beliefs (r = 0.373, p<0.01).

Table 4.3 Group Statistics on Gender, Self-efficacy and Self-esteem

Variables Gender N Mean SD Mean error

(M)
Males 50 45.24 5.442 0.770
Self-efficacy
Females 50 42.22 4.871 0.689

Males 50 23.28 3.320 0.470

Self-esteem

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

Females 50 22.36 3.635 0.514

Table 4.3 above reports the descriptive statistics associated gender differences in terms of self-

efficacy and self-esteem. On efficacy, males obtained a higher mean score (45.24) than females

(42.22). The variability scores (standard deviation) for males and females were 5.442 and 4.871

respectively. On the esteem measure, males and females obtained mean scores of 23.28 and 22.28

respectively. Looking at the mean values, one might conclude that males perform better on the

average than females on all the measures. However, the variability in scores raises another thing for

discussion. From the table, males were found to have scored significantly higher than females on the

self-efficacy measure (Md=3.020). However, with respect to self-esteem, males did not differ so

much from females based on the figure obtained as the mean difference between them.

The findings of the third and fourth hypotheses are stated below.

H3: “males will be highly efficacious than females”.

H4: “males will have high self-esteem than females”.

Table 4.4 Independent samples t test for Gender, Self-efficacy and Self-esteem

Variables N Mean Difference df t p

Self-efficacy 100 3.020 98 2.924 0.004

Self-esteem 100 0.920 98 1.321 0.189

P<0.05

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

Table 4.4 shows a significant difference of 3.020 (45.24 – 42.22) between males and females on self-

efficacy. The independent sample t test table indicated that there was a significant difference in the

scores of males (M = 45.24, SD = 5.442) and that of females (M = 42.22, SD = 4.871); t ( 98) = 2.924,

p=0.004. This result therefore suggests that male confidence on mathematics performance differ

significantly from that of females (p<0.05).

The table presented above also shows that the observed difference of 0.920 (23.28–22.36) between

males and females in terms of self-esteem was not significant. This was supported by the score values

of males (M = 23.28, SD = 3.320) and females (M = 22.36, SD= 3.635); t (98) = 1.321, p<0.05. In

effect, this suggests that male scores on self-esteem measurement do not vary significantly from the

scores of females on the same scale.

4.2 Summary of Results

The overall findings indicate that high self-efficacy increases the likelihood of achieving academic

success. Thus, the higher self-efficacy of an individual, the higher the probability that the person

would perform better academically. In effect, as one’s efficacy on a task increases, he or she is more

likely to score high on the task. Thus, there is a positive relationship between self-efficacy and

performance on mathematics tasks.

Between self-esteem and academic performance too, a weak positive correlation exist. That is, as

self-esteem goes up, the likelihood of scoring high on a test is also high. Furthermore, the positive

relationship between self-esteem and self-efficacy cannot be overruled. It signifies that, individuals

who are efficacious are more likely to be high on esteem as well. Again, gender was found to impact

on self-efficacy and self-esteem levels. Males were found to be much more confident than females in

terms of mathematics. However, self-esteem did not establish any significant difference between

males and females in terms of mathematics performance.

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

With the exception of hypothesis four which was not confirmed, hypotheses one, two and three

were all supported.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A couple of reasons constituted the impetus behind this study. First, many past studies on academic

performance of students focused more on extrinsic (e.g.social) factors than intrinsic (e.g.

psychological) factors. The main aim of the study was to find out the extent to which internal

variables affect our performances and if our sense of self-judgement, value and appraisal as students,

play any role in the kind of achievement that is put up. Through this, stakeholders in education would

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know the various aspects of student lives that need to be touched and addressed the most so that at

the end of it all, better output could occur. Most educational institutions and stakeholders tend to

place so much emphasis on the environmental variables which are sometimes perceived to be solely

responsible for success or failure. This leaves very little room for other internal psychological

variables to be discussed. This piece of work would help elaborate on those factors and how they

could be fostered. Pearson’s correlation and independent sample t test findings indicated that, a

moderate positive relationship existed between self-efficacy and academic performance, as well as

self-esteem and academic performance. Individuals who were found to be higher on efficacy were

also noticed to be higher on self-esteem. Again, males were found to be efficacious than females in

terms of mathematics performance. However, the comparison made between gender and self-esteem

showed that, males did not differ that much on esteem and that the difference is not significant.

The first hypothesis which stated that, self-efficacy will be significantly related to academic success

was confirmed by the findings of this research. This finding is consistent with several other works.

Some of the findings also provide confirmation to hypothesis two at the same time. Hypothesis two

(H2) also stated that, self-esteem will significantly correlate with academic success.

Blake and Lesser (2006) in their attempt to explore the relationship between academic self-efficacy

and middle school students’ performance on a high-stakes mathematics test established that a highly

statistically significant positive correlation exists between individual students’ TAKS (Texas

Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) score and self-efficacy scores. Thus, self-efficacy predicts

outcome scores.

Secondly, Lane, Lane and Kyprianou (2004) posited a significant relationship between self-efficacy,

performance accomplishments and academic performance. This was found when they researched

into the relationships existing among self-efficacy, self-esteem, previous performance

accomplishments, and academic performance. Correlation results which indicated a significant

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relationship between self-efficacy and self-esteem was in consistency with one of the findings of this

work. Multiple regression results also indicated that self-efficacy had a positive link with

performance accomplishments. This claim is in support of the finding of hypothesis one.

Another study by Witt-Rose (2003) also found a significant positive relationship between self-

efficacy and grades. This study investigated the relationships between self-efficacy, gender, age and

academic achievement in a two-year college science course, Anatomy and Physiology. A confidential

self-report survey was administered to 216 students to measure student self-efficacy levels. Most

students had moderate to high levels of self-efficacy. Using an ANOVA test, total self-efficacy was

compared to both midterm and final semester grades. Based on the ANOVA results, highly

significant positive relationships were found between total self-efficacy and midterm grades and total

self-efficacy and final grades. Therefore, a positive relationship exists between self-efficacy and

academic achievement. There was a significant positive relationship found between self-efficacy and

the number of completed college semesters as well.

Nevill (2008) also lends a consistent support to this finding and claims that reading self-efficacy is a

predictor of both regulation of cognition and reading achievement. His finding supports the premise

that students more efficacious about their ability to read, tend to regulate their cognition at a level

significantly different from those lower in reading self-efficacy. While positively associated with

reading achievement, a significant relationship between regulation of cognition and reading self

efficacy does not exist.

Hypothesis one of this study finds a similar result that provides support to the assertion made by

Klomega (2007) who posits a moderate positive correlation between self-efficacy and performance.

Stevens, Olivarez, William and Tallent-Runnels (2004) clearly indicate that self-efficacy plays an

important role in predicting mathematics performance. This was realized when they investigated into

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the role of mathematics self-efficacy and motivation in mathematics performance across ethnicity.

This study supports the positive relatedness of efficacy and performance.

On self-esteem, finding of hypothesis two is in consistency with the work of Chauhan

(2006). He tried to assess the relationship between academic self esteem and educational

achievement of visually impaired. Using a sample size of 60, Pearson correlation indicated a positive

correlation between esteem and academic achievement.

Hypothesis three posited a significant difference between males and females. Males were

seen to be efficacious than females. This finding does not fall in conformity with the finding put forth

by Naderi, Abdullah, Aizan, Sharir and Kumar (2009). A potential relationship between gender and

self-efficacy was studied but no significant relationship was found between them.

However, other studies did not find any significant gender difference in efficacy. In his analysis of

the relationship between mathematics self-efficacy and gender, results of regression analysis

indicated that no significant relationship exist between mathematics self-efficacy and gender. Other

studies such as Cooper and Robinson (1989), Pajares and Kranzler (1994), Garduno (2001), (all in

Clutts, 2010), found no significant gender differences in mathematical ability, anxiety, and

performance and differences in achievement of self-efficacy among high school students

respectively. These findings however contrast the findings of this study (H3).

The finding of hypothesis four (4) is in consistency with a similar work done by Naderi, Abdullah,

Aizan, Sharir, and Kumar (2009). In their assessment of whether self-esteem affects academic

achievement, one hundred and fifty three Iranian undergraduate students in Malaysian Universities

(48 females) (103 males) were recruited as respondents for the study. Their ages ranged from 18 to

27. The Persian version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used to measure subject’s esteem

levels on a 4-point scale. Academic achievement was also measured through their Cumulative Grade

point Average (CGPA). Independent samples t-test results indicated that, no significant gender

difference exist in self-esteem. This contradicts the finding of hypothesis 4. They also reported the

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existence of no significant relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement. This final

proposition confirms the finding of hypothesis 2.

McKenzie (1999) through his assessment of the correlation between self-efficacy and self-esteem

among 31 seventh-grade students in Minnesota, USA, arrived at an important conclusion. Pearson ‘r’

indicated no statistically significant relationship between efficacy and esteem even though a positive

relationship exists between them. On gender and efficacy, he concluded that, the positive relationship

between the two variables does not impose any significant statistical difference between male and

female students. A t-test also conducted using gender as an independent variable suggested no

difference between males and females on efficacy measures. However, a statistically significant

difference was found between males and females. Males performed significantly higher on self-

esteem than females. This assertion contradicts the finding of hypothesis 3.

There was also a high level of self evaluation or esteem associating high level of academic

performance. This claim is in line with hypothesis two. However, the relationship was not

significant.

Pajares and Miller (1994) used path analysis to test for the predictive and mediational roles of self-

efficacy beliefs in mathematical problem solving. Results revealed that math self-efficacy was more

predictive of problem solving than was math self-concept, perceived usefulness of mathematics,

prior experience with mathematics, or gender. Self-efficacy also mediated the effect of gender and

prior experience on self-concept, perceived usefulness, and problem solving. Gender and prior

experience influenced self-concept, perceived usefulness, and problem solving largely through the

mediational role of self-efficacy. Men had higher performance, self-efficacy, and self-concept and

lower anxiety, but these differences were due largely to the influence of self-efficacy, for gender had

a direct effect only on self-efficacy and a prior experience variable.

Finally, Lane, Lane and Kyprianou (2004) investigated the relationships among self-efficacy, self-

esteem, previous performance accomplishments and academic performance among a sample of 205

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

postgraduate students. Correlation results indicated significant relationships between self-efficacy

and self-esteem. Multiple regression results indicated that self-efficacy mediated the relationship

between performance accomplishments and academic performance. Findings lend support to the

predictive nature of self-efficacy measures on academic tasks. Their overall findings on efficacy fell

in lieu with the finding of hypothesis 1.

The above findings go to confirm the predicted perceived relationships that exist among self-efficacy,

self-esteem and academic performance on one hand and gender differences in self-esteem and self-

efficacy beliefs.

However, just as challenges are inevitable in all aspects of human endeavour, carrying out

such a study did not deviate much from such a convention. One of the major limitations encountered

in the course of the study was the access to institutional approval from the school authorities to carry

on with the work. Some students were also identified to be providing socially desirable responses

just to feel eased in front of their friends. The study sample was chosen in a single district and a

single region and may not be very reflective of the true situation on the ground. It may also not be

generalizable to the entire nation because of the fact that self-efficacy and esteem levels of students

may differ at various times and may alter from student to student as well as school to school. The

data collection took about almost three hours and that it was believed that students might just be

making choices which were not reflective of them due to fatigue and the wish to leave the premises.

Self-efficacy measurement was restricted to mathematics and neglects other areas of academia. Thus,

low mathematics efficacy should not mean low efficacy in other areas like science, english,

management, etc. The physiological and emotional states of the subjects were not considered and

thus may affect the results.

However, despite these few challenges, this piece of work is believed would help understand certain

cognitive and evaluative elements about the “self” which are essential to effective learning outcome.

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5.1 Recommendations

Because of the links found between self-efficacy, self-esteem and academic achievement,

recommendations are presented for educators, parents and government on how they can address low

student self-efficacy and esteem levels of students in order to ensure significant output levels.

Research in education should take a step forward by recognizing the importance of such internal

psychological variables as self-esteem and self-efficacy and de-emphasize a little bit on only

extrinsic motivations in an attempt to improve performance. Factors that contribute to the

development of positive academic self concepts need to be studied so as to ensure that the necessary

room for improvement is provided. Teachers should provide feedbacks about children’s

performances whether they are good or poor. However this message should be communicated in such

a way that it will not discourage them. That is, teachers can convince students to realize that their

poor performance is not as a result of lack of ability, rather, a result of lack of or inadequacy of effort.

Those who also perform better should be made to understand that their good performances are as a

result of ability and hard work and not luck.

It is also highly recommended that qualified and competent counsellors be provided to all schools

and at all levels so that together with other stakeholders they would assess the existing student’s self-

evaluations for the appropriate remedies to be effected. If lower levels of self-efficacy are identified,

then appropriate measures should be taken to help raise student self-efficacy levels. Enactive mastery

experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological and emotional states, which

are the primary factors that determine self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986, 1997), should be the prime

targets on which educators and counsellors should focus their efforts. Other target areas should

include goal-setting, rewards, active learning, exposure to successful role models, etc.

Measuring self-efficacy should also transcend beyond a specific area of study but must incorporate

several areas of human endeavour. Extensive research shall be recommended to be done on this topic

in the near and distant future. Greater sample size representative of all the regions in the country

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 Self-efficacy, self-esteem and Academic performance

should also be considered at the expense of probably choosing a single school from a single region or

district. The study was also based on correlation and it is therefore recommended that

experimentation be considered in any future study in order to help assume causal relationships

among self-efficacy, self-esteem and academic performance.

In summary, the study intended to find out whether a relationship exists between students

self-efficacy and their corresponding performances. Self-esteem was also correlated with

performance to find out if a relationship exists between them. Gender differences in efficacy and

esteem beliefs were also ascertained. 100 final year senior high students were randomly selected

from Collins Senior High School and were administered a mathematics self-efficacy questionnaire,

self-esteem questionnaire and mathematics test. Responses to these scales were used for the analysis

for the following conclusions. Pearson’s correlation indicated a positive and significant relationship

between self-efficacy and performance of the students. Self-esteem also correlated positively and

significantly with performance. A significant difference was found between males and females on

efficacy. Students found to be high on efficacy were also found to be high on self-esteem. However, a

non-significant difference was found on self-esteem with respect to gender.

In conclusion, positive self-concepts in general of which self-efficacy and self-esteem

form part have been found to be playing a major and significant role in academic achievement. It is

therefore appropriate to inculcate into students these concepts by educating them on the need for

such an act. Teachers and other stakeholders in education must not focus only on external factors as

the sole probable factors that impact on education. Rather, they should do this alongside the

consideration of other vibrant internal mechanisms which are equally likely to determine an

individual’s output on a task.

It is hoped that the findings will serve as a resource material for mathematics educators, counsellors,

psychologists, parents, Government and significant others who are concerned with academic

progress of students.

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