Mathematics self -efficacy calibration of seventh graders.
Item
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Title
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Mathematics self -efficacy calibration of seventh graders.
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Identifier
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AAI3047203
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identifier
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3047203
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Creator
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Chen, Peggy Pei-I.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Barry Zimmerman
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Date
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2002
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Educational Psychology | Education, Mathematics
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Abstract
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This study investigated seventh graders' math self-efficacy calibration and its effect on students' math performance, individual differences, such as gender, as well as academic variables, such as previous math achievement, post-performance effort judgment, and post-performance self-evaluation. According to Bandura (1986), students' self-efficacy beliefs about their capability to perform affects how they make choices of activities, courses of action, amount of effort to exert, and length of time engaged on a task. To date, the issue of the accuracy judgment of self-efficacy beliefs, termed calibration, has received little investigation. In the present study, it was measured in two ways: accuracy, which measures the magnitude of judgment errors; and bias, which measures the direction of judgment errors. In addition, the design of the study enabled the researcher to assess the relationship between students' personal processes (e.g., self-efficacy judgments of math capability, calibration, effort judgment, and performance evaluation) and variations in context (e.g., specific math problems and their difficulty level).;The results revealed that students' calibration accuracy significantly increased the predictiveness of their self-efficacy beliefs. Path analysis showed that calibration accuracy had both direct and indirect effects on math performance, with the indirect effects mediated through the students' self-efficacy beliefs. Self-efficacy played a direct role in predicting students' math performance, post-performance self-evaluation, and post-performance judgments of effort. The effects of prior math achievement on math performance were mediated largely through the students' self-efficacy beliefs. Unexpectedly, the effect of self-efficacy on post-performance judgments of effort was negative, indicating that high efficacy students needed to spend less effort in solving the math problems than low efficacy students. As for the individual differences in gender, the study found no statistical differences on any of the dependent measures, although boys had numerically higher self-efficacy, post-performance self-evaluation, and lower effort judgment than girls. In conclusion, the results revealed that students' self-efficacy beliefs play an important role in their acquisition of mathematical competence. Such information can be vital in assisting educators to tailor interventions that will enhance students' beliefs in their capability to learn math and as well as their actual success.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
