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Gender differences in high school students' efficacy‐expectation/performance discrepancies across four subject matter domains
Author(s) -
Williams Janice E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6807(199407)31:3<232::aid-pits2310310308>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - psychology , subject matter , self efficacy , test (biology) , reading (process) , subject matter expert , developmental psychology , mathematics education , social psychology , pedagogy , curriculum , paleontology , artificial intelligence , expert system , political science , computer science , law , biology
This study investigated gender‐related differences in the efficacy‐expectation/performance discrepancies of high school students across four subject matter domains. Participants ( N = 131) completed American College Testing (ACT) assessments in English, mathematics, reading, and science. Additionally, prior to each domain‐specific test, students rated their perceived self‐efficacy expectation for successful performance on that test. As anticipated, most students reporting greater efficacy expectation also tended to perform at higher levels, particularly in mathematics. Unexpectedly, the majority of student efficacy/performance discrepancy scores fell outside the congruent range in all content areas. Approximately equal numbers of male and female students inaccurately estimated their performance capabilities, with most noncongruent students tending to fall into either the extreme overestimation/underestimation categories. Implications are discussed regarding the application of these findings to refining educational methods, and enhancing self‐motivation in educational settings.