academic confidence thesis

Constructs of Academic Disposition: An investigation into the concept and measurement of academic disposition, its connection to students background, academic outcomes, and learning gain.

• Martyn Edwards
• Manchester Institute of Education

Student thesis : Phd

• Undergraduates
• Higher Education
• Academic Achievement
• Academic Attainment
• Academic Performance
• Measurement Validation
• Measurement Construction
• Learning Gain
• Multiple Linear Regression
• Critical Reasoning
• Critical Thinking
• Academic Confidence
• Rasch Analysis
• Academic Disposition
• Systematic Literature Review

File : application/pdf, -1 bytes

Type : Thesis

Academic confidence and dyslexia at university

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/8q1xz

Restricted files

Accepted author manuscript.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse this repository, you give consent for essential cookies to be used. You can read more about our Privacy and Cookie Policy .

• Departments
• University Research
• About the University

Food for Thought: An exploration of the relationship of Academic Confidence to Academic Sustenance in Australian undergraduate students.

HILL, KATHRYN,LEE (2017) Food for Thought: An exploration of the relationship of Academic Confidence to Academic Sustenance in Australian undergraduate students. Doctoral thesis, Durham University.

An under-reported aspect of student confidence is the relationship between past academic experiences and levels of Academic Confidence. It was theorised that levels of Academic Confidence might be influenced by an element conceptualised as Academic Sustenance. Using the Sander and Sander’s Academic Behavioural Confidence (ABC) scale, a sample of Australian undergraduate first year university students were surveyed to determine an Overall Academic Confidence (OAC) score. Students with High OAC rankings reported academically sustaining experiences, which assisted in the development of Academic Sustenance, building their Academic Confidence and allowing them to deal with academic challenges more readily. Students who had limited academically sustaining experiences had lower levels of Overall Academic Confidence, which gave them a less optimistic view of their academic abilities. Academic Sustenance consists of four aspects: Encouragement, Drive, Grounding and Efficacy (EDGE). These appear to be non-hierarchical although the aspect of Encouragement was found to exert more developmental opportunities for building Academic Confidence through the influence of Academic Sustenance. Targeted support structures offered through university programs could offer progressive assistance for building Academic Confidence and cultivating Academic Sustenance, which could help more students to cultivate positivity and a more optimistic perception of their academic abilities.

Quick links

• Latest additions
• Browse by year
• Browse by department
• Deposit thesis
• Usage statistics

Prospective students

• International students
• Research degrees
• Durham e-Theses
• Deposit Guide

Last Modified: Summer 2013 | Disclaimer | Trading name | Powered by EPrints 3

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• HHS Author Manuscripts

Self-esteem and academic achievement: a comparative study of adolescent students in England and the United States

Margaret zoller booth.

a School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

Jean M. Gerard

b School of Family and Consumer Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

Utilizing mixed methodology, this paper investigates the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement for young adolescents within two Western cultural contexts: the United States and England. Quantitative and qualitative data from 86 North American and 86 British adolescents were utilized to examine the links between self-esteem and academic achievement from the beginning to the end of their academic year during their 11th–12th year of age. For both samples, quantitative results demonstrated that fall self-esteem was related to multiple indicators of later year academic achievement. While country differences emerge by the end of the year, math appears to have a consistent relationship with self-esteem in both country contexts. Qualitative analyses found some support for British students’ self-perceptions as more accurately reflecting their academic experience than the students from the United States.

The attention given to adolescent self-esteem in the United States and other Western nations has resulted from a consistent pattern of educational studies revealing the academic and social benefits derived from a healthy sense of self. The heightened importance that self-esteem has taken among school personnel and parents has spawned a generation concerned with making sure their children develop a positive self-esteem. Yet, research is inconclusive regarding the directional influence of self-esteem ( Baumeister et al. 2003 ), especially in connection to academic achievement for early adolescents who have been shown to experience fluctuations in self-esteem as a result of school climate change and domain-specific school success ( Wigfield et al. 1991 ). The influence of self-esteem on behavior is also complicated by cross-cultural comparisons that have begun to reveal varying societal interpretations of self-esteem ( Abbas 1993 ). As a result, research has begun to take a more critical eye at the true meaning of self-esteem scores, especially when culturally contextualized and compared to actual individual performance.

Using mixed methodology and longitudinal data, the purpose of the present study is twofold. First, this investigation examines the degree to which there is a relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement for young adolescents within two Western cultural contexts: the United States and England. Second, it examines whether gender influences any relationships between self-esteem and academic achievements. The settings in the United States and England share a number of similarities to assist in controlling for certain variables (including being situated in urban, multi-ethnic, lower socioeconomic background locations), and yet differ sufficiently to warrant cross-cultural investigations. This study is part of a larger investigation examining the influence of these two school cultural contexts on self-esteem/self-concept, academic achievement, school transitions and problematic behavior.

Self-esteem and culture

Theoretical frameworks supporting the necessity for studying learning environments and their relation to socioemotional factors such as self-esteem include Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological theory of human development and Vygotsky’s (1962) socio-cultural approach to understanding learning. The definition of self-esteem has been defined as a ‘positive or negative attitude toward … the self’ ( Rosenberg 1965 , 30); however, the degree to which socio-cultural context influences this ‘positive or negative attitude’ remains uncertain. While Western cultures have been shown to interpret self-esteem similarly compared to vastly different cultures ( Chan 2000 ), any difference in socio-cultural context may impact one’s self-esteem ( Abbas 1993 ). For instance, Chan (2000) found that with a sample of British-Chinese, white British and Hong Kong Chinese, there was less similarity between the two Chinese groups than there was between the two British groups. Chan suggests that the impact of Western society and its more individualistic, less authoritarian culture greatly influenced the British-Chinese students’ self-perceptions.

Much cross-cultural research has taken place among vastly different cultures, attributing significant differences in measure of self-esteem to culturally based interpretations of collectivism and individualism ( Schmitt and Allik 2005 ). However, other researchers have found that additional cultural attributes must explain differences in self-esteem scores and suggest that measures that allow for participant expression could assist in dissecting the impact of culture ( Farruggia et al. 2004 ).

Self-esteem and academic achievement

Drawing from various theoretical perspectives (e.g., social comparison theory, symbolic interaction theory), much research has validated the assumption that high self-esteem is associated with educational achievement ( Marsh, Byrne, and Yeung 1999 ), that ability levels may influence depressive symptoms and levels of self-esteem ( Humphrey, Charlton, and Newton 2004 ), and that a positive self-concept is desirable for children’s personal development ( Branden 1994 ). Evidence for the reciprocal nature of self-esteem and adolescent academic achievement has been found by some researchers, but findings are not consistent across studies nor documented as well as the bi-directional influence between domain specific self-concept and academic achievement. For instance, a study of 838 secondary students in the United States has found a significant relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement for seventh-grade students, but not for ninth-grade ( Alves-Martins et al. 2002 ). In a rigorous longitudinal test of the interrelationships among self-esteem, self-concept and academic achievement based on a large sample of East and West German seventh-graders, Trautwein and colleagues found that prior self-concept significantly predicted later achievement and prior achievement significantly predicted later mathematics self-concept; however, a reciprocal relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement was not found ( Trautwein et al. 2006 ).

While evidence of a relationship between self-esteem and achievement exists, other studies fail to find it within particular populations. For instance, in a study of 643 African-American and white adolescents in the rural south, Tashakkori (1993) found that academic self-beliefs were not a strong predictor of self-esteem; however, self-beliefs about social standing and relationships carried more weight. Ross and Broh (2000) have found in an analysis of data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study in the United States that a sense of personal control affects subsequent academic achievement but self-esteem does not. Furthermore, personal control has also been found to be related to self-efficacy which has shown to require a certain level of positive self-evaluations to maintain self-efficacy ( Schunk 1995 ; Pajares 1996 ). However, while self-efficacy and self-esteem are often found to be related, the increasing evidence revealing the positive effect from student self-efficacy for academic success does not likewise demonstrate a direct positive influence from self-esteem on school achievement ( Ross and Broh 2000 ).

Nonetheless, a positive self-esteem has been viewed as a desirable attribute for students, and therefore studies investigating self-esteem measures often note the important influence of teacher dispositions ( Helm 2007 ) and school climate ( Scott 1999 ) in the development of a positive sense of self. In particular, studies in urban schools have revealed the significance of teacher support for middle school students’ academic engagement and the subsequent influence this support has on academic self-concept ( Garcia-Reid, Reid, and Peterson 2005 ). Likewise, other research with this present study’s sample of North American and British students has revealed that the most significant influence these schools have on student attitude toward school are their peers and teachers ( Booth and Sheehan 2008 ). Nonetheless, the direct influence that self-esteem has on academic performance remains unclear, with further longitudinal research needed to assist with understanding the relationship.

Self-esteem and gender

Gender patterns have often been found within self-esteem studies. Studies during the 1970s and 1980s in the United States regularly found girls’ self-concept more vulnerable during early adolescence, especially in urban areas ( Simmons, Rosenberg, and Rosenberg 1973 ; Blyth, Simmons, and Carlton-Ford 1983 ). Confirming this trend, a meta-analysis investigating self-esteem research in Western industrialized countries has found that adolescent girls’ self-esteem is generally moderately lower than boys’ self-esteem and that this difference is greatest around 16 years of age ( Kling et al. 1999 ). Quatman and Watson (2001) have also found boys to demonstrate a slightly higher level of self-esteem than girls, but unrelated to grade level during adolescents; whereas Baldwin and Hoffmann (2002) found gender effects to be strongest for younger rather than older adolescents.

Some research in England suggests gender patterns, with males demonstrating a closer relationship between self-esteem and academic performance except for competence in the English language ( Ireson, Hallam, and Plewis 2001 ). Furthermore, a study of urban adolescents in Belgium found that boys’ self-esteem was highly dependent on their sense of mastery, while girls’ was more dependent on relationships, especially parental support ( Brutsaert 1990 ). Yet, research that has been most successful in finding gender differences between sense of self and academic performance demonstrates a relationship between self-efficacy and academic outcomes ( Wigfield et al. 1991 ; Schunk and Lilly 1984 ). However, because Western researchers continue to find relationships between achievement and self-esteem and between gender and self-esteem, conceptual leaps often assume gender to moderate self-esteem and achievement. Given this inconclusive evidence, one of this study’s objectives is to investigate if gender moderates the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement and, if so, whether this influence is evident across two Western cultures.

Research design

A multi-strand concurrent mixed method design ( Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003 ) was used to compare and contrast the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement between the adolescents in Cleveland (United States) and Manchester (England) (see Figure 1 ). Two waves of data collection took place for a longitudinal analysis, with the early fall 2004 as the first wave and late spring 2005 as the second wave of collection.

Multistrand concurrent mixed method design.

Site and participants

Two large urban municipalities were chosen for this study that, while nationally different, also included major similar socio-historic characteristics. This was done in order to control for other variables in addition to broad nationally related cultural differences that may influence findings. The Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) and the Greater Manchester schools were chosen for their similarities as older, industrialized, urban, multicultural municipalities with school systems having financial difficulties and inclusive largely of working-class families. A description of the schools from both cities will serve as a means to contextualize the lives of the students in the study.

In Cleveland, four schools were chosen in different geographic locations of the city (east, west and south of the city) so as to acquire a representative sample of the large district. In order to control for Socioeconomic Status (SES), all schools chosen for the study reported 100% of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. While some schools enrolled higher numbers of minority students than others (primarily African-American and Hispanic), all schools represented the ethnic diversity illustrative of this urban district with students from various ethnic backgrounds. Two of the Cleveland schools are large middle schools, each built in the mid-1970s and each enrolling approximately 840 students across three grade levels. These two brick stockade-looking buildings are very similar in architectural style inside and out, with a chain-linked fence surrounding each school with little green space. The buildings inside are dark as a result of the dark brick walls, low ceilings and few windows. Contributing to the atmosphere are security guards who pace the hallways and beeping walky-talkies for emergencies on all teachers.

The third and fourth Cleveland schools are multi-age buildings, housing middle school students in one section of the building and elementary in the other. While these buildings are significantly older (built in 1923 and 1915), they remain more inviting and nurturing in atmosphere. While both buildings require maintenance work, the large windows and brightly painted walls permit plenty of light to shine into the classrooms and hallways. While these buildings also require mechanized means of entry (as with the first two Cleveland schools), the hallways are absent of guards and constantly beeping walky-talkies.

The three schools utilized in Manchester were similar to the Cleveland schools in that they were all government run, co-educational institutions, with student populations representing the multi-ethnic, lower SES, immigrant-based, urban composition of Manchester. The multi-ethnic composition in Manchester includes a large number of students who, while primarily born in England, can trace their family roots to India, Pakistan, Africa or the Middle-East. While the atmosphere of these three urban buildings may share some similar characteristics as the Cleveland schools, each one has a unique environment with challenges and advantages for the students and staff.

The first of the three Manchester schools has just over 600 students from various ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds in the lower four form (approximately 140 students per grade level). The students in this school on the near south side of Manchester represent a cross-section of the Manchester immigrant population (both recent and settled for generations). This diverse student body, which is primarily of lower- to middle-lower socioeconomic status, is organized into a house system, where the students are divided into four houses as a means of organization, tutoring and advising. The physical school climate changed dramatically for these students over the course of the year as they moved from an older school to a new, much larger building with modern facilities. While the older school building did require a little updating and more space (built circa 1960), the older facility had been clean, bright and inviting to visitors. Students and staff were polite and the waiting room for visitors was inviting, with a fish tank and toys available for young children waiting with parents.

The second Manchester school is the second largest of the study’s British schools, with 900 students in its four forms and approximately 190 students per grade level. While it is ethnically less diverse than the other two Manchester schools, this school is located in one of the lowest socioeconomic status sections of Manchester, in a neighborhood of public housing where the faculty and administration complained of the rough neighborhood. However, to a foreign visitor, this neighborhood appeared neat, with green spaces and relatively well-kept houses (in comparison to low SES neighborhoods in most urban areas in the Unites States). The school is an unattractive brick building on the outside (circa 1960), yet like the older building of the smaller Manchester school, is bright, clean and orderly inside, with plenty of windows to let in light to shine on the student art work displayed in common areas. Even though the students of this school experienced challenges associated with very low SES, the school administration and faculty created extra programs for the students to facilitate educational success, including an extensive ‘Transition Program’ for new students entering the first form in the school.

Finally, the third of the Manchester schools has the highest level of socioeconomic status of the three; however, as part of the Manchester municipality, it also has a large percentage of students from lower to middle-lower socioeconomic levels. As the largest of the three Manchester schools, with approximately 1600 students or 320 students per grade level in the first four forms, the student population is also very diverse, with a combination of white British, and students of Indian, Pakistani, Arabic and Caribbean origin. The school’s new building is divided into two sections, one for the lower four forms and the other for the upper sixth form. Even though the students have uniforms, as with the other students in other Manchester schools, these uniforms are less formal than the other schools where they required ties and blazers. While the school was orderly, clean and organized, the large number of students corralled in and out of the building each morning and afternoon created more of a feeling of anonymity than the other two Manchester schools.

Study sample

A total of 258 students (129 male, 129 female) from the four Cleveland and three Manchester schools constitute the sample of a broader study on which this investigation is based. The 103 students from the United States were in sixth grade (mean age = 11.5, SD = .62); whereas the 155 students from England were of this same age (M = 11.6, SD = .41), but their academic standing was grade 7. In both cases, the students were no longer considered in the younger elementary grades, having recently transitioned into middle level grades in Cleveland or secondary level in Manchester.

One limitation of the study results from the difficulties of conducting research in public schools where consent is difficult to obtain under the best of circumstances; however, in the case of Cleveland and Manchester where the urban districts are considered some of the poorest in each nation, the consent process provides the most challenging. As a result, only 24.6% of sixth grade students in the four Cleveland schools and 28% of the same age group in the three Manchester schools received consent for participation. Furthermore, as is the challenge in any longitudinal study, this sample size diminished over the course of the school year from a total of 258 at the beginning of the school year (fall 2004) to 172 students in the spring of 2005 as a result of student absenteeism, school drop-out, transfer or school-sponsored trips. As a result of these difficulties, the present study is based on the responses of 86 Cleveland students (34 males, 52 females) and 86 Manchester students (45 males, 41 females) who had complete data on constructs of interests for this investigation across the two data collection points. Even though this may result in limited generalizations from data analysis, the authentic contextual reality of the setting and participants should bring weight to the project’s conclusions for further study.

Data sources

Investigations with students through surveys and interviews took place at the beginning and end of the 2004–2005 academic year in order to measure changes influenced by that year’s attendance in that particular school. The entire sample of students completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg 1989 ), a widely used 10-item measure. The four-point response format for individual items ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Items with a negative valence were reverse coded so that higher values reflect more positive self-appraisals. Scores across items were averaged. Reliability for the set of scales was determined through Cronbach alphas (Cleveland: fall α = .65, spring α = .70; Manchester: fall α = .69, spring α = .70).

A sub-sample of 45 students (21 Cleveland and 24 Manchester.) was interviewed utilizing the Simmons and Rosenberg Self-Image Scale as a framework for one-on-one interviews ( Simmons, Rosenberg, and Rosenberg 1973 ). While attempts were made to interview a random sub-sample of students, class schedules often influenced who would be available for interviews. Interview responses provide the key qualitative information for analysis in this study. Qualitative analysis of transcripts was conducted independently by two researchers highlighting important patterns in conversation. Taking a post-positivist position in qualitative research, the researchers sought credibility to their research based on Lincoln and Guba’s techniques and included: prolonged engagement in both municipalities being studied, and triangulation of data by utilizing different sources and methods ( Merrick 1999 ),

The scores utilized as a measure of academic achievement included two separate standardized tests, one from Ohio and one from England. First, Ohio Proficiency Test Scores (OPT) were given to students in the Cleveland schools during sixth grade to assess their academic progress and includes an assessment of writing, reading, mathematics, science and citizenship. Key Stage 2 tests (Standard Assessment Tasks) were given to students in Manchester during their 11th year of age and include scores for English, math and science. While both tests serve the same purpose as a standard measure of academic achievement in their respective nations, the tests are not directly comparable. Thus, their use is as a measure of achievement to assess the degree of co-variation between academic performance and self-esteem for students within that respective national sample.

Data analysis

All analyses were conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Preliminary tests include t -tests to determine whether self-esteem scores differ by cultural setting (i.e., country of student) as well as by gender. Correlations also were employed to examine the strength of relationships between self-esteem and academic achievement indicators. As a primary analytic strategy, ordinary least squares regression was utilized to examine the association between self-esteem and academic achievement while controlling for gender and to formally test whether gender moderates this relationship. For both samples, three sets of regression analyses were conducted: Model 1 (longitudinal relationships) – spring achievement scores regressed on fall self-esteem; Model 2 (concurrent relationships) – spring achievement scores regressed on spring self-esteem; and Model 3 (change model) – spring achievement scores regressed on change in self-esteem, computed by subtracting students’ fall self-esteem scores from their spring values.

Results from quantitative analysis

Descriptive statistics for self-esteem measures and academic achievement scores as well as correlations among all measures are set out in Table 1 (Cleveland) and Table 2 (Manchester). Youths’ self-esteem ratings, on average, were significantly higher for the students from the United States than for the British students across the school year (fall: Cleveland M = 3.08; Manchester M = 2.78 [ t = 4.32, df = 170, p = .000]; spring: Cleveland M = 3.21; Manchester M = 2.89 [ t = 4.89, df = 170, p = .000]). While results show some continuity over the school year (with fall self-esteem correlating moderately with spring self-esteem), the self-esteem ratings were slightly more consistent for British students (.54) than for North American students (.39).

Correlations between self-esteem and academic achievement scores for Cleveland sample.

Correlations between self-esteem and academic achievement scores for Manchester sample.

Initial analysis of academic achievement scores revealed significant correlations between fall self-esteem and spring academic achievement scores across samples. Most of these associations were moderate in strength. For the Cleveland students, self-esteem correlated significantly with four of the five achievement indicators including reading (.28), math (.37), citizenship (.36) and science (.33) but not writing (.09). For Manchester students, self-esteem correlated significantly with all three indicators of achievement, which include English (.25) and math (.24) and science (.26). However, for spring, statistically significant concurrent associations between spring self-esteem and achievement scores were fewer in number for the Cleveland sample, as only math was significantly correlated with self-esteem (.28). For the Manchester sample, spring self-esteem remained a significant correlate of both English (.27) and math (.34) but not science (.21). As a whole, these tests indicate that: (1) Manchester students’ self-esteem, although significantly lower than Cleveland students, is more consistent over the course of the year; (2) Manchester students’ self-esteem is more consistently related to the same academic tests; and (3) as a commonality across samples, self-esteem shows a fairly robust relationship with math achievement.

Given the possibility of gender differences in self-esteem and academic achievement scores and potential differences between boys and girls in the degree to which self-esteem and academic achievement co-vary, we examined means and correlations separately for boys and girls. These analyses revealed three gender differences for academic achievement scores. For the Cleveland sample, boys scored higher on citizenship (boys’ M = 213.70; girls’ M = 202.54 [ t = 2.00, df = 84, p = .05]) and science (boys’ M = 210.03; girls’ M = 193.58 [ t = 2.67, df = 84, p = .009]). For the Manchester sample, English scores were significantly higher, on average, for girls (boys’ M = 39.39; girls’ M = 44.83 [ t = −2.138, df = 84, p = .04]).

Conducting a gendered analysis of self-esteem also provides notable results. First, the mean scores on self-esteem measures did not differ significantly by gender for the Cleveland sample. However, results show a sizable discrepancy between Cleveland and Manchester girls in their consistency of self-esteem across the school year. (See Tables 3 and ​ and4 4 for gender breakdown of correlations in the Cleveland and Manchester samples respectively.) Although statistically significant for both groups of girls, the correlation between fall and spring self-esteem was .29 for the Cleveland sample and .63 for the Manchester sample. Furthermore, these data also indicate that correlations between self-esteem and math are driven primarily by female students in both national contexts. In spring, it is the girls who have the higher correlations when compared to boys in their respective national samples, with Cleveland girls revealing a consistent (fall to spring) relationship between math and self-esteem. A similar pattern emerged for science in the Manchester female sample.

Cleveland self-esteem correlations with proficiency test scores.

Manchester self-esteem correlations with proficiency test scores.

In order to examine more closely the role of gender in moderating associations between self-esteem and academic achievement, a series of regression analyses was conducted. In separate models, each of the spring academic achievement indicators (five for Cleveland sample, three for Manchester.) was regressed on gender, fall self-esteem and the interaction term between self-esteem and gender. Following procedures outlined by Aiken and West (1991) , interaction terms were created by centering individual self-esteem scores using the mean value (i.e., subtracting each score by the mean) and then multiplying the centered scores by assigned values for gender (i.e., 0 for males, 1 for females). Centered values reduce multicollinearity when predictor variables are correlated with each other. Analyses were repeated for spring self-esteem. Results from regression analyses are located in Tables 5 to ​ to7 7 (Cleveland) and Tables 8 to ​ to10 10 (Manchester).

Cleveland academic achievement scores regressed on gender and fall self-esteem

Cleveland academic achievement scores regressed on gender and change in self-esteem.

Manchester academic achievement scores regressed on gender and fall self-esteem.

Manchester academic achievement scores regressed on gender and change in self-esteem.

Results from a model regressing spring academic achievement scores on fall self-esteem are set out in Table 5 . Controlling for gender, findings from this set of analyses mirror those from the correlational analyses. For the Cleveland sample, a main effect of gender was detected for science, reflecting higher scores for male students. A main effect for fall self-esteem emerged for students’ scores in reading (β=.45), math (β= .41), citizenship (β= .39), and science (β= .41). Gender did not moderate these associations; however, a marginally significant disordinal interaction was found for writing scores in the spring. As shown in Figure 2 , a positive association between self-esteem and writing proficiency was found for boys, amounting to an average increase of .70 on writing scores for every one-point increase in self-esteem. When academic achievement indicators were regressed on spring self-esteem ( Table 6 ), no main effects for self-esteem were found; however, the interaction between self-esteem and gender was significant for writing (β = −.37, p = .05). The plotted interaction as depicted in Figure 3 reflects an intensification of the pattern identified for fall self-esteem. For boys, a one-point increase in self-esteem was associated with an increase of .77 on writing scores; however, for girls a one-point increase in self-esteem was associated with a decrease of .40 on the OPT writing examination. Table 7 summarizes results from the change model. An inverse relationship between self-esteem and science was detected (β = −.35), suggesting that increases in self-esteem over time were related to lower science scores. Gender did not interact with change in self-esteem to predict academic performance in this set of analyses.

Ohio Proficiency Writing Scores Regressed on Fall Self-Esteem by Youth Gender.

Ohio Proficiency Writing Scores Regressed on Spring Self-Esteem by Youth Gender.

Cleveland academic achievement scores regressed on gender and spring self-esteem.

Like Cleveland, findings from the regression analysis for the Manchester sample are consistent with correlational analyses after controlling for gender. As reflected in Table 8 , a main effect for gender (β = .24) was detected for English, reflecting higher scores for girls. A main effect of fall self-esteem was found for English (β = .31) and math (β = .33); however, the overall model, as indicated by the F value, was not significant for math. Gender did not moderate these associations. Gender remained a significant predictor of English in a model regressing academic indicators on spring self-esteem (β = .23) (see Table 9 ). Consistent with fall data, spring self-esteem was a significant predictor of English (β = .27) and math (β = .37) but not science (β = −.11), and gender did not moderate these associations. Finally, change in self-esteem across the school year was not associated with academic achievement (see Table 10 ).

Manchester academic achievement scores regressed on gender and spring self-esteem.

Qualitative analysis

An analysis of student interviews was conducted to investigate whether students’ conversations about themselves reflected the reality of their academic performance. Continued evidence was found revealing the Cleveland students to be less likely than Manchester students to exhibit accurate opinions about their academic selves by the end of the school year. This conclusion emerged when analyzing student answers to one particular question in the interview: ‘ If I met your teachers, what would they say about you? ’ A content analysis of the answers to this question revealed similar patterns between the two national groups in the direction and substance of responses in the fall, but exhibiting some substantial differences by the spring interview. Student responses to this question varied from academic-oriented comments (‘ I get good grades; they’d say I’m intelligent ’) to social-behavioral comments (‘ They’d say I’m a little noisy and wild ’) (see Table 11 for comment examples).

Examples of students’ reflective appraisals of teachers by sample and gender over the course of the year (same student from fall to spring).

Because the focus of this paper is to examine the relationship between academic achievement and self-esteem, an analysis of the nature and amount of academic comments made about themselves by the students was conducted. In the fall, the Cleveland and Manchester students volunteered academic responses at similar rates, with 80% of the 21 Cleveland students and 86% of the 24 Manchester students providing academic comments (see Table 11 ). Furthermore, both groups’ assessments of their academic selves were notably positive with 100% of the Cleveland and 83% of the Manchester students discussing their academic selves in a positive light. Yet, by the end of the school year, the Cleveland and Manchester cohorts differed in the amount that they discussed their academic selves. The Cleveland students increased their academic comments from a ratio of .80 academic comments per student in the fall to 1.52 comments per student in the spring. However, the Manchester students actually declined from a rate of .86 to .66 academic comments per student from fall to spring. Furthermore, while the Manchester students had a similar ratio of positive to negative comments at both collection points, the Cleveland group’s academic self-appraisals became more optimistic over time (e.g., ‘ he does his work on time and gets good grades in class ’).

This analysis of the type and quantity of volunteered academic comments about themselves initiated a continued investigation of these patterns. However, in order to investigate whether students of different achievement levels talk about themselves differently, this continued content analysis was limited to the students in both countries who performed the best and the worst on their standardized tests. These results were discovered by grouping the interviewed students into best and worst categories if the student fell into the top 10% or bottom 10% of any scholastic test score. Because not all students were interviewed, the number of best and worst students were limited and varied between national samples.

The following analysis will reveal that in this sample the Cleveland best and worst students spoke principally similarly about their academic selves; however the best and worst Manchester students volunteered academic comments in recognizably different patterns. Within the Cleveland sample (which included seven students in each of the best and worst categories), a content analysis of the students’ reflective appraisals of their parents and teachers found similar rates of academic content in their comments, with 1.4 academic comments per person for the best group and 1.8 average comments for the worst group when combining their fall and spring comments. As examples, one girl from the Unites States who was in the best group in the fall said that her parents would say that she is ‘ good at poetry and drawing ’, and in the spring she said that her parents would say that she is ‘ very smart because she gets a lot of As ’. An American male in the fall in the best group said that his teachers would say that he ‘ turns his homework in on time and follows directions ’, and in the spring they would say that ‘ he gets good grades and keeps up with most things ’. Likewise, the sampled North American students who performed the worst on standardized scores continued to be positive about their academic selves. For instance, in the fall one female said that her teacher would say that she ‘ turns in her homework and pays attention ’, and in the spring they would say ‘ she is hard working ’. Similarly, a male in the worst group indicated that in the fall that his teachers would say that he ‘ does his homework ’, and in the spring they would say that he ‘ is a good worker in all subjects ’. Therefore, students from the United States with extreme differences in academic performance volunteered similar reflections of their academic selves.

In contrast, the British best and worst groups included reflective appraisals that more accurately characterized their actual performance. The five British students who were in the top 10% of test scores spoke consistently academically and most positively about themselves, of all of the groups, including the Cleveland sample. Their averaged 2.2 academic comments per student were 100% positive. Exemplifying their self appraisals was one male student who said in the fall that his teachers would say ‘ his education is quite good ’, and in the spring his teachers would say his ‘ behavior is pretty good and his test results are good ’. Likewise, a female in this same group guessed her teachers would say that she is ‘ a good worker, clever, answers questions, and participates in class ’, and in the spring, they would continue to say that she ‘ does good work ’.

Contrasting to the best Manchester group was the worst Manchester category. Although small (four students), this group never said a word in either the fall or spring about their academic selves. Even though their self-analyses were not completely negative, they focused entirely on their social behaviors. For instance, one female noted that her ‘ mum would say that she’s always fighting with her brother… but she would also say that she is not cheeky ’. This same student believed her teachers would say she’s ‘ a bit chatty, especially after lessons ’. As a result, complementing the statistical results, this qualitative analysis reveals British students who may have a more accurate interpretation of their academic selves than the participants from the United States.

Math and self-esteem

When separating the students into the best and worst groups for each of their standardized test subject, the participants with the greatest disparity in their comments were the students in the best and worst math groups. Both the Cleveland and Manchester students with best math scores included self-analyses in both the fall and spring that were generally positive and also balanced in both academic and behavioral comments. For instance, one North American female said that her mom would say that she is ‘ nice but sometimes I have an attitude problem … But I am the active one in the family and I put a smile on peoples’ faces. I also like reading a lot ’. In the spring, this same girl thought that her mom would say ‘ she’s smart, competitive, and active ’. Furthermore, a best math Cleveland male thought his teacher would say that he ‘ turns his work in on time and follows directions and I’m also nice ’, and in the spring he said that he ‘ gets good grades and keeps up with most things. I’m helpful and the teachers like me to do things for them ’. Similarly, a female in Manchester was balanced in her fall self-analysis when she thought that her teachers would say that she ‘ is a good worker, clever, and answers questions, and participates in class ’, and in the spring, even though she is ‘ noisy ’, she also ‘ does good work ’.

On the other hand, the small representative group of worst math scores avoids discussing their academic selves altogether in both national groups. In the spring, the Cleveland students’ academic comments have disappeared completely, limiting their self-appraisals to their behaviors, such as the Cleveland female who said that her mom would say that ‘ she’s sometimes nice but sometimes moody. She’s athletic, and respectful … but also a little noisy and funny ’. Finally, one girl from Cleveland in the worst math group had included some academic comments in the fall by stating that her teachers would say she ‘ learns, likes to go to school and study, and also helps in the classroom ’. However, by the spring, her self-appraisals were absent of academic content, and only focused on her behaviors which were both good ( nice ) but also problematic ( noisy and wild ). As a result, this content analysis of the best and worst math students provides additional evidence that there does appear to be some relationship between how well a student performs in math and their self-esteem.

The results of this study contribute to our understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement through the unique utilization of a mixed-methodological and cross-cultural investigation. With the use of this methodology, we have been able to test quantitatively for relationships between self-esteem, gender and academic achievement, in addition to qualitatively exploring how and why these relationships may take shape. An analysis of the combined quantitative and qualitative results suggests several conclusions to be discussed. First, the young adolescents from both the United States and England begin school at age 11 with similar strengths in the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement; however, this relationship largely disappears by the end of that academic year for North American students. Second, patterns were consistently found between level of self-esteem and math achievement in both of these samples of students. Finally, cultural expectations regarding gender-appropriate skills may influence self-esteem, especially for students from the United States.

The most notable country comparison results pertain to the contrast between fall and spring self-esteem and achievement analyses. Both the Cleveland and Manchester students enter school at 11 years of age with similar patterns pertaining to their self-esteem and academic achievement. Both groups find self-esteem to correlate with the majority of their standardized tests. Furthermore, in the fall, qualitative analysis also found both groups to talk similarly about their academic selves as they both volunteered academic comments as part of their self-appraisals at similar rates with a similar positive tone. However, by the end of the academic year, the two groups differ both quantitatively and qualitatively in this self-esteem and achievement relationship. While Manchester students remain steady with similar trends connecting self-esteem and academic achievement, the quantitative relationship between the Cleveland students’ self-esteem and academic achievement declines steadily, leaving only math with any relationship to self-esteem. Furthermore, as a result of the addition of qualitative inquiry, student interviews suggest that this lack of a relationship in the spring for Cleveland students may be the result of an unrealistic and overly optimistic self-appraisal of academic skills. These North American students voluntarily talk more about their academic selves in the spring as compared to the fall and their commentary is by and large still positive.

These differences found between the student groups in the two countries demonstrate that cultural differences do not have to be as great as some literature have hypothesized with collectivist-leaning cultures interpreting self-esteem measures differently than individualistic-leaning cultures ( Schmitt and Allik 2005 ). Perhaps youth do not have to be from significantly different cultures (east versus west) to be influenced by the socio-cultural environment in their self-appraisals. Furthermore, while Cleveland and Manchester are both urban, low socioeconomic and multicultural cities, the different school climates, creating particular school cultures, may also be contributing to the students’ self-esteem. This suggests the need for additional cross-cultural studies that investigate the influence of school climate on adolescents.

While other researchers have found that self-appraisals by young adolescents are often overly confident and that they develop a more accurate depiction of themselves as they grow older ( Schunk 1995 ), the results in this study suggest that this phenomenon may be more prevalent amongst students in the United States than elsewhere. The incongruence between self-esteem and achievement in the spring is limited to the Cleveland sample. This disconnect could be the result of students not performing as well as they thought they would on tests in sixth grade, yet not recognizing the seriousness of this lack of performance. Furthermore, scholastic feedback from educators may influence their self-esteem more than actual performance. As a result, the contextual influences on young adolescents’ self-appraisals require further investigation.

The second conclusion pertains to the apparent significance of math scores and achievement. While the regression analysis does not reveal continued significance for math throughout the entire year, other tests in the study do find math to be consistently related to self-esteem, possibly more than other academic measures. Furthermore, the combined qualitative analysis of the best and worst math students reveals patterns that support a possible link between math scores and self-esteem. These results support previous research by Wigfield et al. (1991) , who found in the large Michigan Adolescence Study that math and self-esteem correlate for students in junior high and that this effect was already measurable at the beginning of sixth grade.

The present study’s methodology was not initially designed to narrow the academic investigation to math, and therefore the unanticipated results pertaining to math are notable. These math results are also relevant to the discussion of our third conclusion, which points to the influence of gender-targeted cultural expectations on academic success. In addition to math correlations that show females driving the significant relationship with self-esteem, regression analysis also found a positive interaction in the fall and spring between self-esteem and writing scores for Cleveland boys but not for girls. These two categories of results, math correlating with females’ self-esteem and writing with that of males, suggest a possible influence from cultural expectations on student self-esteem. For instance, the strong relationship between Cleveland girls and math may suggest that when cultural importance is placed on an academic skill, yet a particular segment of the population is not expected to perform strongly, when they do it may be the result of or cause of heightened self-esteem. Other researchers have found evidence in the United States for gender-stereotyped behavior becoming more influential as students progress into early adolescence ( Eccles 1987 ; Hill and Lynch 1983) and others have found that some gender patterns in middle school writing achievement ‘may be a function of gender orientation rather than of gender’ ( Pajares and Valiante 2001 , 376). This gender-role intensification may then influence skill performance expectations, leading boys to have high expectations for success at math tasks but girls to have higher expectations for English language ability than boys ( Wigfield et al. 1991) ). This is similar to research investigating the impact of self-efficacy on task performance, often finding similar gender patterns with math achievement expectations ( Schunk and Pajares 2002 ).

As a result, the math and writing patterns found in this study may provide additional evidence that middle school-aged students in the United States and, to some degree, England continue to persist with gender-oriented academic skill expectations. When societal expectations do not match with their actual performance this may correlate with self-esteem. In this study’s results, even though regression analysis may suggest that level of fall self-esteem influences later writing performance for males as measured by a spring standardized test, other confounding variables in this natural setting may influence males’ math performance and/or self-esteem throughout the school year. For instance young students have been found to express inaccurate self-appraisals pertaining to abilities ( Schunk and Pajares 2002 ); however, teacher feedback has been found to influence students’ self-efficacy ( Schunk and Lilly 1984 ). With additional teacher feedback, students may develop a greater sense of their own ability and feel better about their success. In this case, student actual success or failure during the school year could influence their own self-efficacy and subsequent performance on standardized tests which then continue to influence self-esteem.

This mixed-methodological investigation with adolescent students within natural settings has provided an opportunity to study the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement with notable depth. Nonetheless, this study also presents some challenges associated with longitudinal research as the student sample decreased over the course of the year and confounding factors out of the study’s control could have influenced the students. As a result of the undoubted presence of uncontrollable variables over the course of a year, the most reliable conclusions after merging the quantitative and qualitative results may be limited to non-directional correlational analysis. The results in this study suggest that the strength of relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement is partially dependent on societal context, is more likely to be moderated by gender when gender-orientation is strong for particular domains, and that for students from the United States this relationship appears to be influenced by domain specificity.

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

Publisher's Disclaimer: The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

• Abbas T. Gender, ethnicity, and the structure of self-esteem: An attitude theory approach. Journal of Social Psychology. 1993; 133 (no. 4):479–488. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1991. [ Google Scholar ]
• Alves-Martins M, Peixoto F, Gouveia-Pereira M, Amaral V, Pedro I. Self-esteem and academic achievement among adolescents. Educational Psychology. 2002; 22 (no. 1):51–62. [ Google Scholar ]
• Booth MZ, Sheehan H. Perceptions of people and place: Young adolescents’ interpretation of their schools in the US and UK. Journal of Adolescent Research. 2008; 23 (no. 6):722–744. [ Google Scholar ]
• Baldwin SA, Hoffmann JP. The dynamics of self-esteem: A growth-curve analysis. Journal of Youth & Adolescence. 2002; 31 (no. 2):101–115. [ Google Scholar ]
• Baumeister RF, Campbell JD, Krueger JI, Vohs KD. Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles? Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 2003; 4 :1–44. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Blyth DA, Simmons RG, Carlton-Ford S. The adjustment of early adolescents to school transitions. Journal of Early Adolescence. 1983; 3 :105–120. [ Google Scholar ]
• Branden N. Six pillars of self-esteem. New York: Bantam; 1994. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bronfenbrenner U. The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1979. [ Google Scholar ]
• Brutsaert H. Changing sources of self-esteem among girls and boys in secondary schools. Urban Education. 1990; 24 (no. 4):432–436. [ Google Scholar ]
• Chan YM. Self-esteem: A cross-cultural comparison of British-Chinese, white British and Hong Kong Chinese children. Educational Psychology. 2000; 20 (no. 1):59–74. [ Google Scholar ]
• Eccles J. Gender roles and women’s achievement-related decisions. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 1987; 11 :135–172. [ Google Scholar ]
• Farruggia SP, Chen C, Greenberger E, Dmitrieva J, Macek P. Adolescent self-esteem in cross-cultural perspective: Testing measurement equivalence and a mediation model. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 2004; 35 (no. 6):719–733. [ Google Scholar ]
• Garcia-Reid P, Reid RJ, Peterson NA. School engagement among Latino youth in an urban middle school context. Education & Urban Society. 2005; 37 (no. 3):257–275. [ Google Scholar ]
• Helm C. Teacher dispositions affecting self-esteem and student performance. Clearing House. 2007; 80 (no. 3):109–110. [ Google Scholar ]
• Humphrey N, Charlton JP, Newton I. The developmental roots of disaffection? Educational Psychology. 2004; 24 (no. 5):579–594. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ireson J, Hallam S, Plewis I. Ability grouping in secondary schools: Effects on pupils’ self-concepts. British Journal of Educational Psychology. 2001; 71 (no. 2):315–326. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kling KC, Hyde JS, Showers CJ, Bruswell BN. Gender differences in self-esteem: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin. 1999; 123 :470–500. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Marsh H, Byrne B, Yeung A. Causal ordering of academic self-concept and achievement: Reanalysis of a pioneering study and revised recommendations. Educational Psychologist. 1999; 34 :155–167. [ Google Scholar ]
• Merrick E. An exploration of quality in qualitative research: Are ‘reliability’ and ‘validity’ relevant? In: Kopala M, Suzuki LA, editors. Using qualitative methods in psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1999. pp. 25–36. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pajares F. Self-efficacy beliefs in achievement settings. Review of Educational Research. 1996; 66 :543–578. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pajares F, Valiante G. Gender differences in writing motivation and achievement of middle school students: A function of gender orientation? Contemporary Educational Psychology. 2001; 26 :366–381. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Quatman T, Watson CM. Gender differences in adolescent self-esteem: An exploration of domains. Journal of Genetic Psychology. 2001; 162 (no. 1):93–117. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rosenberg M. Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1965. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rosenberg M. Society and the adolescent self-image. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press; 1989. Revised ed. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ross CE, Broh BA. The roles of self-esteem and the sense of personal control in the academic achievement process. Sociology of Education. 2000; 73 :270–284. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schmitt DP, Allik J. Simultaneous administration of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale in 53nations: Exploring the universal and culture-specific features of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2005; 89 (no. 4):623–642. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Schunk D. Self-efficacy and education and instruction. In: Maddux JE, editor. Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: Theory, research, and application. New York: Plenum Press; 1995. pp. 281–303. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schunk DH, Lilly MW. Sex differences in self-efficacy and attribution: Influence of performance feedback. Journal of Early Adolescence. 1984; 4 :203–213. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schunk DH, Pajares F. The development of academic self-efficacy. In: Wigfield A, Eccles J, editors. Development of achievement motivation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 2002. pp. 16–32. [ Google Scholar ]
• Scott CG. Modeling self-esteem: The potential impact of school personnel on students. Professional School Counseling. 1999; 2 (no. 5):367–373. [ Google Scholar ]
• Simmons RG, Rosenberg F, Rosenberg M. Disturbance in the self-image at adolescence. American Sociological Review. 1973; 38 (no. 5):553–568. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tashakkori A. Gender, ethnicity, and the structure of self-esteem: An attitude theory approach. Journal of Social Psychology. 1993; 133 (no. 4):479–488. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tashakkori A, Teddlie C. The past and future of mixed methods research: from data triangulation to mixed model designs. In: Tashakkori A, Teddlie C, editors. Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2003. pp. 671–701. [ Google Scholar ]
• Trautwein U, Lüdtke O, Köller O, Baumert J. Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and achievement: How the learning environment moderates the dynamics of self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2006; 90 (no. 2):334–349. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Vygotsky L. In: Thought and language. Hanfmann E, editor; Vakar G, translator. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 1962. [1934] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wigfield A, Eccles JS, MacIver D, Reuman DA, Midgley C. Transitions during early adolescence: Changes in children’s domain-specific self-perceptions and general self-esteem across the transition to junior high school. Developmental Psychology. 1991; 27 (no. 4):552–565. [ Google Scholar ]

Academic confidence

And dyslexia at university.

A doctoral research study Middlesex University, London

Revised October 2020; Award conferred April 2021

Dr. Andrew Dykes B.Ed, M.A, M.Sc, PhD, CELTA, FHEA

Complete Thesis >>

This thesis is an account of the study, research processes, data analysis and discussion about how the academic confidence of university students with dyslexia in the UK is affected by the identification of their dyslexia.

Revised, October 2020

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge with thanks, the study support and academic guidance provided by the research community at Middlesex University, the Research Degrees Administration Team at the Department of Education and in particular, the advice, interest and encouragement of my supervisory team.

I also express gratitude to Middlesex University for the 3-year Research Studentship funding without which this research project would not have been possible.

Andrew Dykes B.Ed., M.A., M.Sc., FHEA

Middlesex University, May 2019

Abstract and Section 1 >>

This study explored how university students' academic confidence may be affected by them being identified as dyslexic. Contemporary views of dyslexia range from considering it primarily as a literacy-based, specific learning difficulty (BDA, 2017), to a multi-factorial information processing difference (Tamboer et.al., 2016). Currently (2019), and by defining dyslexia as a disability, dyslexia-identified students at university in the UK are entitled to receive academic support to enable equitable engagement with their studies.

Confidence is a robust dimensional characteristic of individual differences (Stankov, 2012) and academic confidence has been defined as the level of strong belief, firm trust, or sure expectation of responses to the demands of studying at university (Sander & Sanders, 2006a). Academic confidence has been linked to academic capability and ultimately, to academic achievement (de la Fuente et.al., 2013). In this study, academic confidence was gauged using the Academic Behavioural Confidence (ABC) Scale, a metric designed to explore and explain differences in the study behaviours and learning strategies of students at university through the lens of academic confidence (Sander and Sanders, 2003, 2006a, 2009). The ABC Scale draws from the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) of Bandura, and particularly, the application of SCT to learning through the concept of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997), considered as the parent construct of academic confidence (op cit, 2006a).

Data was collected by self-report questionnaire from a sample of n=166 university students, who had declared either a dyslexic learning difference or not. By comparing differences in ABC between students with dyslexia and those with no identified dyslexia, evidence emerged that the non-dyslexic students showed significantly higher levels of academic confidence than their dyslexia-identified peers, principally indicated by a large effect size ( g  =1.06). From the non-dyslexic group, a sub-group of quasi-dyslexic students was identified, being those who presented attributes and characteristics that were similar to those in the dyslexic group. To achieve this, a fresh metric was developed, the Dyslexia Index (Dx) Profiler, which framed dyslexia through the lens of study skills and learning behaviours at university. Existing dyslexia screeners were considered to be ethically inappropriate for use in this study. The academic confidence of students in the quasi-dyslexic group was also compared with that of the dyslexic group, and with the remainder of the non-dyslexic group. The quasi-dyslexic students also had significantly higher levels of academic confidence in comparison to their dyslexia-identified peers, indicated by a moderate effect size ( g  = 0.51). For students in the dyslexic group, significant differences in ABC were also revealed as a function of how these students were told of their dyslexia, with those whose dyslexia had been diagnosed as a disability showing the lowest levels of ABC. To further explore more nuanced differences between the groups, both principal component analysis and a tentative regression analysis were used.

The main conclusion drawn from the analysis outcomes is to suggest that identifying dyslexia in university students may be counter-productive because this might negatively impact on academic confidence, and possibly on academic achievement.

Introduction

1.1  academic confidence and dyslexia at university.

This study explored how the academic confidence of students at university may be affected by dyslexia-ness, the term used throughout this thesis to describe an individual’s intensity of dyslexic characteristics or dimensions.

The research was about gauging how the dyslexia-ness of students with identified dyslexia, or with previously unidentified dyslexia-like profiles (termed quasi-dyslexia), may impact on their study strategies and processes in relation to their sense of academic purpose. This was achieved by exploring the confidence they express in meeting the academic challenges of university.

Thus, the objective was to determine whether an association exists between levels of dyslexia-ness and levels of academic confidence. The academic confidence of students with few or no indications of dyslexia were used for comparison.

I  Dyslexia

In the context of this project, dyslexia at university is viewed as a learning difference rather than a disability. It is acknowledged however, that at its core, a legacy of literacy challenges in earlier schooling may place additional study demands on some university students with dyslexia in comparison with their non-dyslexic peers, which may place them at a learning disadvantage and which might be viewed as disabling.

However, defining dyslexia remains contentious (e.g.: Tunmer & Greaney, 2010; Elliott & Grigorenko, 2014; Nicholson & Fawcett, 2017) especially in adults. This is perhaps unsurprising given the predominance of literature in the field has been interested in the syndrome in children, with a shift in focus to dyslexia in adults being relatively recent. This in part acknowledges that dyslexia persists into adulthood (Undheim, 2009; Carawan et.al., 2016), but also that since many higher intellectual functioning dyslexic adults are now attending university (Tops, et.al., 2012; Pino & Mortari, 2014), the arguably disparate nature of dyslexia has become more evidenced, not least by exploring levels of support for students with dyslexia and its effectiveness (Dobson, 2018).

The most wide-ranging and locally (i.e. UK) pertinent statement to describe dyslexia is demonstrated by the set of characteristics offered by the British Dyslexia Association (BDA, 2018). These suggests that: dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling, and occurs across the range of intellectual abilities; that characteristic features are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory, verbal processing speeds, and that co-occurring challenges may be apparent in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organization. Notably, the BDA supports the view that dyslexia can be best considered as a continuum (Jamieson & Morgan, 2008; Reid, 2016; Edwards et.al., 2018) with no clear boundaries, rather than a syndrome with categorical distinctiveness, not least due to the diverse range of characteristics that may be present or not in dyslexic individuals.

This current study acknowledges the breadth of this 'definition' of dyslexia and contends that it can be seen to be aligned with the more recent approaches towards understanding dyslexia as a multifactorial condition (Tamboer et al, 2014; Tamboer et al., 2017), which is arguably more relatable to the specific subset of adults with dyslexia who attend higher education. This is the contemporary view that the syndrome impacts on a range of literacy, cognitive and organizational competencies which, through variances in both degree and co-morbidity, can render the dyslexic individual at a disadvantage in conventionally delivered, literacy-based learning environments. The dyslexia debate is discussed more comprehensively in Section 2.1, where a selection of literature pertaining to the nature and aetiology of dyslexia is discussed, and where the stance of this current study on dyslexia is elaborated.

However, by taking the multifactorial approach to dyslexia, and so that the study could draw on a research pool of students across the complete university community, it was necessary to develop an innovative profiler to gauge dyslexia-ness. This was one which did not focus on deficit-discrepancy models or on disability, and which avoided ethical issues of disclosure that would have arisen had an existing dyslexia screener been used with non-, and especially with quasi-dyslexic students. This profiler was built from dimensions of dyslexia that have been shown to be typical amongst university students with dyslexia, but which could also be relatable to study behaviours of non-dyslexic students. The development of this profiler is discussed in Section 3.6.

II  Academic Confidence

Academic confidence is set as the dependent variable in this study. The position will be adopted that academic confidence is a sub-construct of academic self-efficacy (Sander & Sanders, 2003), and is concerned with a student's belief about their capability to perform a task at a particular level to attain a specific goal. Along with self-esteem, self-confidence, and notably, self-efficacy, these beliefs and attitudes form the core of our self-concept (Pajares & Schunk, 2005), and at university, act to guide students through the academic challenges that university study presents (Sander & Sanders, 2006a).

Academic confidence is grounded in the self-efficacy component of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, e.g.: 1977, 1986, 1997a), itself concerned with how human actions and behaviours are self-regulated. Increasingly, components of the self, and more particularly, self-beliefs, are being cited as key indicators of students' motivation in learning environments (Zimmerman, 2000; Pajares & Schunk, 2002; McGeown, et. al., 2014).

Academic confidence is likely to emerge primarily as a result of mastery experiences (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2002; Usher & Pajares, 2006), this being one of the four components of SCT, and is about achievements built on positive prior experiences in related, relevant contexts. According to Bandura, the other components are vicarious experiences - formed largely through gaining a sense of capability in comparison with others engaged in the same undertaking; verbal persuasion, notably through encouragement by people significant to the individual; and physiological and affective states, that is, how we feel when we are engaged in an activity or endeavour. These components of SCT are elaborated in Section 2.2/II, later.

Academic self-efficacy focuses on the features of self-efficacy which are presented in learning contexts. The research contributions of Zimmerman, Schunk and Pajares have been selected to demonstrate how SCT can be applied in educational settings, not least due to their relevance to university contexts. In particular, Zimmerman placed academic self-efficacy as a central component of the learning process through learners' beliefs in their capabilities to self-regulate their learning and master academic challenges, acquire new ideas and communicate their knowledge. Zimmerman (1990) evidenced that students who are competent self-regulators achieve stronger academic outcomes than their otherwise comparable peers who are poor self-regulators. All of these concepts and constructs are discussed in Section 2.2/III.

III  Academic Behavioural Confidence

Academic behavioural confidence is used to operationalize academic confidence through use of the Academic Behavioural Confidence (ABC) Scale, following precedents set in other studies (e.g.: Putwain et al., 2013; Nicholson, et.al., 2013). ABC emerged from earlier attempts to explain differences in the reasons provided by university students from two different cohorts to defend their preferences for particular pedagogical processes, namely learning through role-play or through peer-group presentations. At that time, academic confidence was proposed as “a mediating variable between the individual's inherent abilities, their learning styles and the opportunities afforded by the academic environment of higher education” (Sander & Sanders, 2003, p4). It was first operationalized as the Academic Confidence Scale which was later revised into the Academic Behavioural Confidence Scale because it was better seen to be gauging confidence in behaviours, actions and plans related to academic study (Sander & Sanders, 2006a). The ABC Scale is designed to be a general measure of students' confidence about their academic work at university.

IV  Location and stance of the study: Impact statement

This study provides evidence to suggest that students who know about their dyslexia present lower levels of academic confidence in comparison with their non-dyslexic peers. The study also shows that the terminology used to tell newly-assessed students of their dyslexia may also have a significant effect on their academic confidence.

This adds to the limited range of research relating to the academic confidence of university students from minority groups, especially those deemed to have learning disabilities however these might be defined. The conclusions of the study support a contemporary view favouring a shift in the delivery of university learning towards increased inclusivity and accessibility. The impact of this would be that by accommodating greater learner adaptability and learning flexibility, learners with dyslexia, however this is also defined, might feel more included and less 'different' (e.g.: Dykes, 2008; Thompson et al., 2015).

This might be achieved by adopting the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Rose et al., 1999; Rose & Meyer, 2002), an original approach to redesigning classrooms and curriculum delivery to extend the rights of students with disabilities towards better access to the general education curriculum. Encouraging the design and development of more accessible curricula is argued to be preferable to retrofitting the curriculum to the learner (Lancaster, 2008) by way of 'reasonable adjustments' (discussed in sub-section 2.1(I)). UDL provides a blueprint for institutions to become accessible and inclusive without the need for differentiation of learning spaces or curriculum delivery, conventionally thought as the most appropriate way to accommodate the atypical learning needs of disabled students. In UDL environments the principles of inclusivity are embraced, thus ameliorating an emerging disconnect between the 'one-size-fits-all' curriculum and increasingly more diverse communities of learners (Edyburn, 2010). 

Thus, it is reasonable to suppose that the positive strengths and qualities that form part of a spectrum of apparent learning differences could be integrated into the development of the learner in ways that would encourage a greater sense of academic agency to emerge through stronger academic confidence. Hence, this may contribute positively towards better and more successful academic outcomes at university (Nicholson et al., 2013). Zimmerman spoke of academic confidence in the context of academic agency (discussed in Section 2.2/III), which he described as “a sense of [academic] purpose, this being a product of self-efficacy and academic confidence that is then the major influence on academic accomplishment” (1995, p202). It is through the lens of academic confidence, as a sub-construct of academic self-efficacy (Sander & Sanders, 2006a), that this research project has been tackled.

Hence, the stance of the research particularly supports those aspects of the inclusion agenda in education contexts which advocate rethinking the design and delivery of learning curricula, not least to reduce the persistent reliance on literacy-based formats, claiming that this is inherently unjust. This is to argue for the re-framing of learning and teaching environments at university to accommodate learning diversity more equitably, which may then consign into redundancy the need for special conditions and reasonable adjustments for many students with unseen differences or disabilities.

1.2  Research Design and methodological overview

I  background - the preceding small-scale enquiry.

The legacy of outcomes from the researcher's preceding MSc. dissertation (Dykes, 2008) has had a significant impact on the development of this current project. This was a small-scale enquiry conducted within the dyslexic student community at a UK university. The aim was to try to understand why some students with dyslexia strongly advocated the learning support value of a dedicated learning technology suite staffed by dyslexia and disability specialists; whilst others with apparently similar dyslexic profiles appeared ambivalent towards these services. This was evidenced through the former making frequent use of the suite and services whereas the others were only infrequent visitors despite initially registering for access. It was hypothesized that this disparity might, in part at least, be due to differences in the attitudes and feelings of students with dyslexia to their own dyslexia, but particularly to their perceptions about how it impacted on their access to, and their engagement with their learning at university.

The analysis outcomes were mixed, making it difficult to establish clear conclusions and revealing that the issue was far from straightforward; but also could have been attributable to the small sample sizes of the research groups and to a research design which, with hindsight, could have been better developed. However, three influential aspects emerged from this study: firstly, lessons were learned about constructing online survey questionnaires and in particular how to design and incorporate Likert-style scale items into questionnaire design; secondly, considerable value was ascribed to the development of profiling charts to visualize quite complex interrelationships between variables (see Section 3.3/III.2). An important aspect of these were the opportunities they afforded to spot patterns, similarities and contrasts, not so much between the profiles of individual respondents, but how respondents could be grouped into subsets. Thirdly, it became clear that the opportunity provided in the questionnaire for students to reflect and report on how they felt their dyslexia impacted on their studies, and how the university responded to their learning needs, was widely welcomed. This qualitative data was optionally provided, although a significant majority of participants contributed to this section of the questionnaire.

II  Structure and process

1. epistemological position.

This was a primary research project grounded in a methodologically pluralistic approach (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Johnson et.al., 2007). Thus, a blend of both quantitative and qualitative methods and analysis was used, an approach widely practised across domains of educational research (Seigel, 2006).

The epistemological position draws from four components of sources of knowledge: intuitive: concerning belief, faith, feelings; authoritarian: from taught, defined or existing facts; logical: as deduced from reasoning; and empirical: being demonstrated from experimentally derived evidence. However, a greater reliance is placed on the logical and objective interpretation of facts established from observed data. Hence this is to adopt a Deweyist, pragmatic philosophical position grounded in pluralistic empricism in relation to the design and action of the research process and for understanding the outcomes (e.g.: Shook, 2002). Espousing the positivist paradigm generally attributed to Comte (Acton, 1951; Cohen, et.al., 2007), the purpose of the research was to accept or reject hypotheses through due scientific process. In this way, statistical analysis of data leading to generalizable findings based on comparisons between a control and an experimental (or test) group were the basis.

This study has been underpinned firstly by a review of a range of literature (in Section 2.1) on the nature, aetiology, identification and assessment of dyslexia, with dyslexia amongst university students framing the selection strategy. This informed the establishment of a fresh descriptor, dyslexia-ness, as one element of the research design. Being a measure of the intensity that the attributes and characteristics of dyslexia have on study behaviours at university, dyslexia-ness is built on the understanding that dyslexia is best considered as a continuum construct rather than a categorical one. Stemming from the broad, BDA definition of dyslexia, this led to the idea of The Dyslexia-ness Continuum (see sub-section 3.3.III/2.2) where dyslexia-ness has been operationalized through the development of a profiler and a new metric, Dyslexia Index (Dx), which aimed to be valid across the wider student community rather than be focused specifically at students with identified dyslexia. This served as an essential component to the study, enabling a test sub-group of quasi-dyslexic students to be established in a way that was ethically non-controversial. These were students who appeared to be presenting many characteristics and attributes typically associated with dyslexia but who were not identified as dyslexic. Thus, comparisons could be made with both a control subgroup of students with a formal identification of dyslexia, and a base subgroup of non-dyslexic students, as determined by their low levels of dyslexia-ness in the profiler.

Secondly, a comprehensive review of the theory and previous research relating to academic confidence, principally operationalized through academic behavioural confidence, has been presented (in Section 2.2). Academic confidence is located within the framework of the parent construct of academic self-efficacy, itself identified as an element of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) in extensive earlier research by Bandura (e.g.: 1997b, 2000, 2001). SCT is outlined and selectively reviewed, particularly in relation to education and learning. Hence, the use of academic confidence as a construct is discussed from the theoretical perspective, with data collected using the existing, Academic Behavioural Confidence (ABC) Scale, which sets out to gauge students’ actions and behaviours in academic study (Sander & Sanders, 2006a).

This data collected from a sample of university students through an online, self-report questionnaire was largely quantitative, although additional qualitative responses were invited. Statistical analysis set out to explore research questions about the extent to which dyslexia-ness impacted on academic confidence (see 1.4, below). Null hypotheses are stated, and evidence to address these was based on effect size differences between research group and subgroup sample means, supported by conventional independent sample means’ p-value outcomes. Although the analysis was able to respond adequately to the research hypotheses, it was considered that exploring dimension reduction techniques using principal component analysis might add depth to the results. The outcomes were mixed, perhaps indicating that this approach may need a larger and/or more diverse sample for more convincing outputs to be generated. A regression analysis was also tentatively explored to determine whether the output might add substance to the analysis outcomes (see Section 4). These additional analyses are reported and discussed in the context of this study, although the results are used mainly to suggest possible directions for future research (see Section 6).

Qualitative data was also collected, although providing it was optional, with none being received from students in the non-dyslexic group. Hence, although conducting an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis may have been  a possible approach for analysing these data for the dyslexic group alone, as no comparison was available with other participants, it was considered more appropriate to use these data to contextualize some of the statistical conclusions in the discussion element of the thesis instead, and where apposite (see Section 5). However, these data have been reserved for a focused analysis later which may be included in a subsequent study.

III  Register

The majority of this thesis is written objectively and in the third-person. However, some sections relate more of the personal and reflective elements of the learning journey of the researcher, and hence are narrated in the first person. This also serves to distinguish between the reporting of the evidence-based outcomes of the project and my stance as a practitioner-researcher in the field of education and learning development at university. Where direct quotations have been taken from other literature, these are shown in double quotation marks; single inverted commas are used as marks of emphasis (e.g.: ‘reasonable adjustments’); direct quotations from participants in this, and other studies are italicized when presented in the narrative, or shown in a reduced font-size when part of a bulleted list.

1.3  Research Importance

No peer-reviewed studies were found that specifically explore how the academic confidence of dyslexic students at university may be affected by their dyslexia when compared to their quasi-dyslexic and non-dyslexic peers. Searching across journals databases revealed only an unpublished dissertation (Asquith, 2008) which explored how dyslexia was related to academic confidence and to self-esteem. This study hypothesized that dyslexic students who were receiving support would present higher levels of each of these constructs in comparison to dyslexic students who were not. A significant feature of the study was an assumption that a proportion of the apparently non-dyslexic students recruited into the study may present characteristics of dyslexia, as determined by use of the Vinegrad Adult Dyslexia Checklist (Vinegrad, 1994). Hence, three research subgroups were established: dyslexic students, non-dyslexic students and quasi-dyslexic students although this term was not used. Although not considered as a precedent, similarities between that study and this current research were apparent. Discussed more fully later (Section 2.2), briefly, Asquith identified significant differences in mean values of academic confidence (evaluated using the ABC Scale), between dyslexic and non-dyslexic students. Investigating differences between dyslexic and quasi-dyslexic, or non-dyslexic versus quasi-dyslexic students did not appear to have been attempted. Nothing was said about how ethical tensions were resolved in relation to apparently identifying dyslexic students previously considered to be non-dyslexic, and how this may have been disclosed or not.

However, although limited in its scope, research design, and verifiable outcomes, Asquith’s study has been a useful example of one of the earliest uses of the ABC Scale, notably with dyslexic students. This current study takes a more robust approach to developing clearly focused research questions (see 1.4, below), addressed by a research design (Section 3) grounded in an extensive review of the pertinent literature (Section 2), together with a more elaborate analysis of data collected (Section 4). Hence this study fills a gap in the existing research.

Research questions

1.4  research questions and hypotheses.

Research questions were formulated thus:

Firstly, do students who know about their dyslexia present different levels of academic confidence to that of their non-dyslexic peers? If so, can factors in their dyslexia be identified as those most likely to account for these differences, and are these factors absent or less-significantly impacting in non-dyslexic students?

Secondly, do students with no formally identified dyslexia, but who show evidence of a dyslexia-like learning and study profile, that is, present quasi-dyslexia, present different levels of academic confidence to that of their dyslexia-identified peers? If so, are the outcomes sufficient to suggest that identifying dyslexia in student learners is detrimental to their academic confidence?

Hence these research questions enabled two, corresponding hypotheses to be formulated:

Ho(1) = There is no difference between dyslexic and non-dyslexic students' levels of academic confidence;

AH(1) = Non-dyslexic students present a higher level of academic confidence than their dyslexic peers.

Ho(2) = There is no difference between dyslexic and quasi-dyslexic students' levels of academic confidence;

AH(2) = quasi-dyslexic students present a higher level of academic confidence than their dyslexic peers.

Furthermore, amongst students with identified dyslexia, does the manner in which these students have learned of their dyslexia impact on their levels of academic confidence? Is there evidence more specifically, that students whose dyslexia has been diagnosed to them as a disability present lower levels of academic confidence than those whose dyslexia has been reported to them in other ways, for example, identified as a difference. 'Diagnosis' is principally a medical construct used to determine the existence of an illness, including mental illness, or a physiological or health abnormality, and affective responses to being 'diagnosed' are widely reported in a variety of fields. In the context of dyslexia, if lower levels of academic confidence are found to be associated with a diagnosis of dyslexia as a disability, this may suggest that the importance of not presenting dyslexia as a clinical or medical condition, implied by diagnosing it, could be more widely understood. Given the aspsiration of higher education to be inclusive and non-judgmental, not least through the widespread adoption of the social model of disability, it might be argued that diagnosing dyslexia as a disability is evidence of an albeit tacit, but nevertheless embedded legacy of the out-dated, medical model of disability.

Hence these subsidiary questions prompted a further hypothesis:

Ho(3) = Amongst students with dyslexia, there is no difference in academic confidence between students whose dyslexia was formally diagnosed to them as a disability, and those who formally learned of their dyslexia in other ways;

AH(3) = Students who were formally diagnosed with dyslexia as a disability present lower levels of academic confidence than their dyslexic peers who formally learned of their dyslexia in other ways.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Students' Self-Confidence and Its Impacts on Their Learning Process

The purpose of this study was to measure students' self-confidence and finds its impacts on their learning process at Kandahar University. The study is descriptive in nature where quantitative questionnaire is used to collect data through stratified sampling from 1375 male and female students. The findings revealed only some of the students were low self-confident and most students were highly self-confident. In addition, students' self-confidence effected their learning in areas of students' participation, in seeking goal, developing interest in lessons, in decreasing students' anxiety, they are being comfortable with their instructors and classmates and also in sharing their opinions related to lessons in class.

Related Papers

IOSR Journals

Teachers in an education system are one of the core pillars in achieving educational goals. There is no education system that can progress and succeed to enculturate succeeding generations without of teachers. Teacher quality and quality of instruction require comprehensive preservice or in-service teacher education and training programs. A teachers' training program is aimed at producing quality and effective teachers who eventually can guide students not only on academic success but also in the lifelong learning. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The target population of study comprised of Mathematics teachers in Konoin Sub County, Bomet County, Kenya. A total of 70 (89.7%) of the mathematics teachers selected participated in the study. The research instrument used was a questionnaire which consisted of four closed-ended question items. Data collected was coded and analyzed. Statistical significance was evaluated based on the Chi-square goodness-of-fit test, Fisher's exact and Freeman-Halton test (an extension of Fisher's exact test. The findings shows that majority of the mathematics teachers perceive their preservice mathematics content as not relevant to teach secondary school mathematics compared to those who perceive as relevant dependent on initial academic qualifications. Majority of teachers were not confident. High number of teachers attributed the content they teach to their secondary school mathematics teacher. Majority of teachers perceived general methods of teaching taught in college are applicable and adequate to their practice than not applicable.

Omidullah Akbari

The purpose of this study was to find the level of orphans' motivation for higher education and factors contributing their motivation for higher education. Since Kandahar is one of the historically and strategically important provinces of Afghanistan in which four-decade war have adversely affected different aspects of lives of its population. Orphan and education seem two contradictory terms in a country like Afghanistan with four-decade war history. The study is descriptive in nature where a quantitative questionnaire was designed to collect data from randomly selected 112 students studying in 10 th , 11 th and 12 th of Shaikh Zaid orphanage and from 15 graduates through snowball sampling method. The findings revealed that orphans are motivated for higher education transportation, financial problem, daydreaming, distraction during study are the major challenges that prevent orphans from getting higher education.

Chidiebere Eti

lawal haruna

Lubang Alex Charles

Training, Salaries, Work environment, among other factors influences the employees‟ motivation and performance. Based on the fact that the needs of employees and the level of motivation may differ from organization to the other, an understanding of what promotes and boosts employee motivation and organizational performance is very important. Motivation has the role to develop and increase the desire of every employee of the organization to work effectively and efficiently towards achieving the organizational objectives. The purpose of this case study was to examine the factors influencing employees' motivation on performance. A motivated and devoted employee with a high level of job involvement is considered to be an essential asset for any organization who plays an important role in quality and performance improvements in the organization. This case study on the Banks in Yei Municipality adopted a descriptive research design and a cross sectional analysis. The case study focused on three Banks operating in Yei Municipality and it involved the collection of primary data from a sample of 28 employees from various departments of Eden Commercial Bank, Nile Commercial Bank and Bank of South Sudan– Yei Branch. The technique of stratified sampling was used in the study and questionnaires were issued to collect the primary data. The questions were presented in the form of statements on a 1-5 Likert scale. The data preparation from the filled questionnaires was done through editing, coding, transcribing and cleaning. The descriptive data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS).

Mona Tahseldar

The present study aimed at exploring

Prof. Edwin Agwu

This study investigated the relationship between self awareness and organizational performance in the Nigerian banking industry. The study was a survey and the sample for the study consisted of two hundred and ten bank managers in South-South area of Nigeria. Data were collected mainly in the cities where we have high concentration of the banks through interview and questionnaire instrument found to be reliable with cronbach Alpha values of 0.7 and above. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested using the spearman rank correlation coefficient with the aid of statistical package for social science. The results of our analysis at .05 level of significance showed that self awareness is positively related to net profit and return on investment, but no strong relationship was found between self awareness and market share. Our interview results also supported our findings. Based on the results, it was concluded that self awareness positively influences net profit and return on investment. It was therefore recommended that Organizations should train their managers/employees to acquire the competencies associated with self awareness.

محمد محمد السر محمد

International Journal for Innovative research in Multidiciplinary Field

Abdullah Rahimi

RELATED PAPERS

IDOWU Oluwafemi Amos

PAPILO VENTURES

Adeshina Babatunde

Abigail Kusimo

ADEDAYO Dolapo

nelson jagero

Mary Anyiendah

Hassan S A L E H Mahdi

Dr. L.R.K. Krishnan

Sara M Cotterall

Mahmood Imad

Open Access Publishing Group , isaac owusu-darko

Massa Grace

AJHSSR Journal

IOSR Journals publish within 3 days

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science

James Bill Ouda

SERIKI KAZEEM

Emmanuel Anaele

Dr. Emmanuel Anaele , Edooghogho Afieroho

Maymay Pedaria , Navimaenaro Oning

Herlyn Faye Dela Rosa

Lukman Abdurraheem

hadi haideri

Beatrice Ndibe

Catherine Di Domenico

arlene contreras

International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Mashraky Mustary

sulyman hammed

Dr. Muhammad Sarwar

Gimboy Beldad

Ibrahim Muhammad

Evolution: Education and Outreach

Edmund Marek , Tony Yates

IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)

Md Monirul Islam Monir

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• Bibliography
• More Referencing guides Blog Automated transliteration Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Automated transliteration
• Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Referencing guides

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Self-confidence'

Create a spot-on reference in apa, mla, chicago, harvard, and other styles.

Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Self-confidence.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

Maggian, Valeria. "Lies, Incentives and Self-confidence." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Padova, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11577/3425267.

Sears, Paul Albert. "An attribution theory of self-confidence." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 1990. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1054737188.

Oney, Emrah. "Self-confidence and intention(s) to complain : should general or specific self-confidence predict consumer intention(s) to complain?" Thesis, Swansea University, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.644359.

Littlefield, Joanne. "Safer Relationships for Teens: Program Builds Self-Confidence." College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/622179.

Ballane, George. "Understanding of Self-Confidence in High School Students." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6396.

Beattie, Stuart James. "Anxiety, self-confidence, self-efficacy and performance : some challenges to current thinking." Thesis, Bangor University, 2006. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/anxiety-selfconfidence-selfefficacy-and-performance--some-challenges-to-current-thinking(57ad5e9c-a897-42e0-8707-b4d57a036741).html.

Chew, Barry. "Self-esteem, self-complexity, and reactions to naturally-occurring events." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26796.

Ede, David E. Jr. "Self-Care Confidence Predicts Less Depression in Heart Failure." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1624135356324155.

Oliver-Scott, Dorothy Jean. "Organization leads to self-confidence and a wonderful retirement." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2004. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2569.

Witney, Lois W. Thomas Clayton F. "Nurse educators self-concept and leadership behaviors /." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1990. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9101129.

Donoghue, E. D. "Self-regulation and the public interest : A question of confidence." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.517277.

Luna, Bernal Alejandro César Antonio, and Arocena Francisco Augusto Vicente Laca. "Decision-making patterns and self-confidence in high school adolescents." Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2014. http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/100530.

Hagemeier, Nicholas E., Daniel Ventricelli, and Rajkumar J. Sevak. "Situational Communication Self-Confidence Among Community Pharmacists: A Descriptive Analysis." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1481.

Liertz, Carmel, and n/a. "Developing performance confidence : a holistic training strategies program for managing practice and performance in music." University of Canberra. Communication & Education, 2002. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060817.132817.

Winfrey, Mary Lynn. "Effects of self-modeling on self-efficacy and balance beam performance." Virtual Press, 1992. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/845949.

McCharles, Beth L. "Female varsity athletes' perception of how coaches influence their self-confidence." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/26520.

Petrie, Margaret. "Identity, self-confidence and schooling for citizenship : listening to young people." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/4913.

Helsper, Ellen. "Internet use by teenagers : social inclusion, self-confidence and group identity." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2007. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/71/.

Barton, Andrew Ian. "A study into the use of self-efficacy and confidence measurements." Thesis, University of Greenwich, 2011. http://gala.gre.ac.uk/8058/.

Burr, Emily A. "Emerging adults’ financial responsibility and self-confidence as predictors of income." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/16867.

Bowling, Ann Marie. "The Effect of Simulation on Knowledge, Self-Confidence, and Skill Performance." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1309923164.

Clarke, Kristine Marie. "Effects of graded and steady exercise and self-confidence on stress." PDXScholar, 1988. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3758.

Gaud, Lydia E. "Nursing Student's Breast Cancer Knowledge and Breast- self Examination Technique Confidence." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3246.

Tasleem, Damji Budhwani. "Acculturative and marital stress: The moderating roles of spousal support, linguistic self-confidence and self-esteem." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/20979.

Damji, Budhwani Tasleem. "Acculturative and marital stress, the moderating roles of spousal support, linguistic self-confidence, and self-esteem." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0022/NQ36769.pdf.

Kealy-Morris, Elizabeth. "The artist's book : making as embodied knowledge of practice and the self." Thesis, University of Chester, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10034/620375.

Chatel, Deborah Kaye Coussons. "The use and misuse of labels: Codependency as a self-handicapping strategy." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/186777.

Shoots-Reinhard, Brittany. "Using personality confidence to enhance behavioral prediction the case of self-monitoring /." Connect to resource, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1811/6485.

Moquist, Jonas. "EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN LIFESTYLE AND SELF-CONFIDENCE WITHIN ADOLESCENT FOOTBALL PLAYERS." Thesis, Halmstad University, School of Social and Health Sciences (HOS), 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-5055.

The aim of this narrative research was to explore the relationship between lifestyle and self-confidence within adolescent football players. The research questions were formulated as follow; (1) What sources let adolescent football players build self-confidence? (2) What issues characterize adolescent football player’s lifestyles? (3) How do adolescent football players perceive an association between lifestyle and self-confidence in sport? The results showed eight different sources for building self-confidence, where earlier performances and social support were considered as the strongest. Ten different lifestyle factors were observed. Football, social support, performance intent and good health were common factors for all the participants. The study showed three types of perceived associations between self-confidence and lifestyle. First of all, there is an overlap between the lifestyle issues and sources of self-confidence. Second lifestyle issues influence the degree to which sources of self-confidence work for the participant to build self-confidence. Third lifestyle pattern provides a balance (or misbalance) which influences particular sources of self-confidence and in the end self-confidence itself. The author discuss how the result can be interpreted in perspective of every single participant and in common for all the participants.

Pearce, Renée D. "Gender and physics, the relationship between learning orientation, self-confidence, and achievement." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq23167.pdf.

Caldas, Lucas Soares. "Persuasion, self-confidence and resistance : a dual-processing perspective on consumer fraud." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UnB, 2014. http://repositorio.unb.br/handle/10482/17411.

Machida, Moe. "An Examination of Sources and Multidimensionality of Self-Confidence in Collegiate Athletes." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1214597240.

Bin, Wan Mohd Yunus Wan Mohd Azam. "Development and evaluation of self-confidence webinar for depression in the workplace." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2017. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/development-and-evaluation-of-selfconfidence-webinar-for-depression-in-the-workplace(3db86479-9fba-4eee-a9f7-2a76f859f3a7).html.

Mirijanian, Dr Narine. "Student Self-Reported Academic Confidence as an Indicator of First-Year Retention." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5105.

Ahmad, Iram. "The effects of perceived parental authority on academic success, self-esteem, self-confidence, and psychological well-being." Thèse, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 2011. http://depot-e.uqtr.ca/2036/1/030184693.pdf.

Sin, Ka-wai. "Self-rated confidence level and smoking behaviour of junior secondary school students in Hong Kong the youth smoking and health survey 1999 /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2001. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B23317036.

Björk, Eleonora, and Mari Thorildsson. "Childbirth self-efficacy inventory in Tanzania : a pilot study." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Omvårdnad, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-3270.

Fitzpatrick, Joseph. "Applying the gospel to fear of man issues a manual for Torah students /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2006. http://www.tren.com/search.cfm?p036-0373.

Bergström, Isabella. "Praktikchock?! : En studie om hur erfarenheter från VFU påverkat studenters självkänsla." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Lärarutbildningen, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-24658.

Baxter, Lynn Z. (Lynn Zander). "The Association of Self-Directed Learning Readiness, Learning Styles, Self-Paced Instruction, and Confidence to Perform on the Job." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1993. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc935689/.

Kais, Kristjan. "Precompetitive state anxiety, self-confidence and athletic performance in volleyball and basketball players /." Online version, 2005. http://dspace.utlib.ee/dspace/bitstream/10062/670/5/kais.pdf.

Van, der Bergh Erika. "The influence of academic self-confidence on mathematics achievement / Erika van der Bergh." Thesis, North-West University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/10180.

Buemi, Samuel J. "The predictive value of committed relationships and confidence on self-perceived mate value." Thesis, Capella University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10036358.

The field of evolutionary psychology focuses on many human behaviors; mate selection and value being some of the issues under examination. Mate value is an important concept for explaining mating strategies. Self-perceived mate value is a component of mate value that explains how one views himself or herself as a potential mating partner. The utilization of theories including the triangular theory of love and social exchange aid in explaining the variables under review. The three variables under review include level of confidence in maintaining a relationship, level of commitment to the relationship, and length of time in the relationship, which impact one’s level of self-perceived mate value. This study used one demographic measurement and three questionnaires: Relationship Contingent Self-Esteem Scale, Commitment to Relationship Scale, and the Mate Value Inventory. Further, this research distributed surveys to 114 students at a 2-year technical college in central Wisconsin to test a model through multiple regression. Using multiple regression, this study found that two of the variables (level of confidence in maintaining a relationship, the level of commitment to the relationship) aided in explaining self-perceived mate value, while time spent in a commitment relationship was not statistically significant in relation to self-perceived mate value.

Li, Qiwei. "Perception of Falls and Confidence in Self-Management of Falls among Older Adults." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2020. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1703385/.

Pepper, David Jonathan. "Confidence in PISA : validating an international assessment of student self-efficacy in mathematics." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2014. http://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/confidence-in-pisa(96b21acf-cf79-471d-8f18-af97b5c1d5be).html.

Magnetico, Jaime. "Clinical Simulation and Nursing Student Perceptions of Satisfaction, Self-Confidence, and Critical Thinking." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4007.

Maechel, Gustaf. "Priming av självrelevanta ord : Kan attributionsstil påverkas av omedvetna signaler?" Thesis, Mälardalen University, School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-8362.

Människor tenderar att attribuera framgångar till sig själva och misslyckanden till externa källor, fenomenet kallas för Self-serving bias. Hur individer attribuerar kan enligt forskning påverkas av bland annat graden av självkontroll samt självkänsla. Enligt forskning kan intentioner eller beteendemål aktiveras automatiskt och omedvetet av en utlösande signal, så kallad priming, och därmed aktivt guida en persons självreglering. Denna studie har genom ett experiment, med 56 högskolestudenter, undersökt om priming av självkontroll och självförtroende kan påverka hur en individ attribuerar vid framgång och misslyckande. Resultatet visade ingen signifikant skillnad mellan priminggrupperna. Humör visade sig ha betydelse för hur deltagarna attribuerade. En ojämn gruppfördelning och en för bred variationsvidd på beroendemåttet diskuteras om det hade någon påverkan på resultatet.

Anderson, Marianne. "Confidence, motivation & emotional intelligence : an exploratory investigation into female Emirati EFL students who self-coach to success." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3064.

Karlsson, Anna. "Självförtroende och självkänsla : Hur pedagoger stärker elevernas självförtroende och självkänsla." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Institutionen för pedagogiska studier, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-32422.

Bedwell, Carol. "An analysis of the meaning of confidence in midwives undertaking intrapartum care." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2012. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/an-analysis-of-the-meaning-of-confidence-in-midwives-undertaking-intrapartum-care(613415b1-a583-49eb-84ac-e1dee6ab7433).html.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Increasing phd student self-awareness and self-confidence through strengths-based professional development submission type: research article provisionally accepted.

• 1 Department of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, United States
• 2 Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Strengths-based programs have emerged as asset-based approaches to professional development that promote positive student engagement and success. This paper shares the outcomes of a strengths-based professional development program provided to biomedical and health sciences graduate doctoral students within an academic health center. Program outcomes and changes in participants’ perceived confidence when identifying and applying their strengths in different contexts were evaluated through a mixed methods design that included a Likert-based survey and thematic analysis of qualitative responses. Findings strongly suggest that most participants lacked the self-confidence and/or self-awareness to recognize their own strengths prior to the program. Themes that emerged upon implementation of the program point to the following outcomes: participants gained an increased understanding of their strengths, confidence that the knowledge gained about their strengths would help them learn more effectively in laboratory settings, an increased belief that they possess natural talents and skills that make them good scientists and strong members of their research team, and confidence that applying their strengths will help them to overcome both personal and professional challenges. This program shows promise to strengthen graduate student self-awareness and self-confidence. Further studies are needed to understand and measure how asset-based programs such as this can impact graduate student resilience, science identity, and overall student success.

Keywords: graduate, Strengths, Professional Development, biomedical, Health Sciences, Science identity, stem

Received: 31 Jan 2024; Accepted: 22 Apr 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Lockman and Ferguson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Julie A. Lockman, West Virginia University, Department of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Morgantown, United States

People also looked at

• Open access
• Published: 22 April 2024

The effect of peer mentoring program on clinical academic progress and psychological characteristics of operating room students: a parallel randomized controlled trial

• Amin Sedigh 1 ,
• Sara Bagheri 2 ,
• Pariya Naeimi 3 ,
• Vahid Rahmanian 4 &
• Nader Sharifi 5  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  438 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

One of the new educational systems is the mentorship method. This study aimed to investigate the effect of peer mentoring program on clinical academic progress and psychological characteristics of operating room students.

This research was a randomized controlled trial that was conducted on undergraduate students in the operating room department of Khomein Faculty of Medical Sciences, Markazi Province in Iran. The number of operating room students were 70 that were divided into intervention and control groups by random allocation using Permuted Block Randomization. Inclusion criteria included all operating room students who were in internship, and exclusion criteria included failure to complete the questionnaires. The data collection tools were the demographic questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Situational Motivational Scale. In the control group, clinical training was done in the traditional way. In the intervention group, training was done by peer mentoring method. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, paired t-test, chi-square test, ANCOVA, univariable and multivariable linear regression.

The study revealed significant differences between the intervention and control groups. Post-intervention, the intervention group demonstrated substantial increases in self-confidence (mean difference = 5.97, p  < 0.001) and significant reductions in stress levels (mean difference = -3.22, p  < 0.001). Conversely, minimal changes were noted in the control group for both self-confidence (mean difference = 0.057, p  = 0.934) and stress levels (mean difference = 0.142, p  = 0.656). Although both groups experienced decreases in anxiety and depression levels, these changes were not statistically significant ( p  > 0.05). Furthermore, the intervention significantly enhanced academic progress in the intervention group compared to the control group (mean difference = 20.31, p  < 0.001).

The results showed that the implementation of the peer mentoring program was effective in improving academic progress, self-confidence, and reducing the stress of operating room students. Therefore, this educational method can be used in addition to the usual methods to improve the education of operating room students.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Using effective training methods can increase people's motivation and commitment, increase productivity and reduce mistakes [ 1 ]. Clinical training is an important part of training in medical sciences, which plays an essential role in shaping the basic skills and professional abilities of students, including students of the operating room [ 2 , 3 ]. Learning and mastering work roles and tasks in the operating room environment is challenging; In addition, operating room students should be trained in many interventions in the surgical process before, during and after surgery [ 4 ].

Operating room students are affected by various stresses during the course of clinical training, and various contextual and environmental factors play a role in creating this stress [ 5 ]. The results of a study among nursing students showed the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms to be 28.7%, 41.7% and 20.2%, respectively [ 6 ]. Also, studies have shown students' self-efficacy at an average level [ 7 ]. The experience of stress in the clinical environment can affect students' learning and acquisition of clinical skills and lead to a drop in their academic performance [ 8 , 9 ]. Considering the high level of stress and the fact that mistakes have no place in the operating room, it is important to pay attention to the quality of training of operating room students and to strengthen the knowledge and skills of future operating room personnel [ 10 ].

Learners and students prefer new educational methods to traditional and passive methods. Active approach is a form of teacher-learner interaction in which learners are no longer passive listeners, but active participants in the learning process [ 11 , 12 ]. The basis of active and comprehensive learning methods is that learning is based on experience and learners actively create knowledge based on their personal experience [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The importance of active learning has led professional associations and accreditation organizations, as well as organizations such as UNESCO, to recommend active learning methods in education [ 16 ].

One of the new educational systems is the mentorship method. In this educational method, the mentor and mentee establish a long-term relationship based on friendship with each other. Positive attitude, experience and volunteering are characteristics of mentorship [ 17 , 18 ]. For the first time, Whitman and Fife examined the peer teaching strategy in university education. In this method, higher year students teach practical and theoretical lessons to lower year students [ 19 , 20 ]. The implementation of the mentorship program increases self-confidence, emotional support, and increases students' interactions [ 21 , 22 ]. When students, despite having knowledge and ability in clinical practice, lack sufficient competence, the reason may be a lack of self-confidence, confidence in their own ability, or understanding of the necessary self-efficacy [ 23 , 24 ]. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of peer mentoring program on clinical academic progress and psychological characteristics of operating room students.

Study design

This research was a parallel randomized controlled trial that was conducted on undergraduate students in the operating room department of Khomein Faculty of Medical Sciences, Markazi Province in Iran from September 2022 to April 2023.

Participants

The number of operating room students were 70, who were included in the study by census method. Inclusion criteria included all operating room students who were in internship, and exclusion criteria included failure to complete the questionnaires.

Randomization and blindness

First, the students completed the written consent to participate in the study, and then they were divided into intervention and control groups by random allocation using Permuted Block Randomization [ 25 ]. Therefore, 35 participants were placed in each group. Then the participants of the intervention and control groups completed the questionnaires before the beginning of the internship. Due to the nature of the intervention in the present study, it was not possible to blind the subjects under the study. Therefore, blinding was performed on those who collected and recorded the data and those who performed the analysis. This research was designed and implemented according to the CONSORT guidelines (Fig.  1 ).

Consort -flow- diagram

Instrument and data collection

The demographic questionnaire included gender, age, marital status, economic status of the family, education level of parents and occupation of parents.

Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) consists of three subscales including 7 questions for each. Each question is scored from 0 (does not apply to me at all) to 3 (completely applies to me). Each of the areas of stress, anxiety and depression has 7 questions and the minimum score for each area is 0 and the maximum score is 21. The score of each area is obtained from the sum of the scores of the answers given to the questions of that area. Antony et al. analyzed the mentioned scale; The results of the correlation calculation indicated a correlation coefficient of 0.48 between the two factors of depression and stress, a correlation coefficient of 0.53 between anxiety and stress, and a correlation coefficient of 0.28 between anxiety and depression [ 26 ]. The reliability of this scale in Iran in a sample of 400 participants was reported as 0.7 for depression, 0.66 for anxiety and 0.76 for stress [ 27 ]. Also, in the validation study of this questionnaire in Iran by Sahebi et al. the reliability of this scale was investigated through internal consistency and its validity using factor analysis and criterion validity with the simultaneous implementation of Beck depression, Zang anxiety and perceived stress tests. In general, the obtained reliability and validity coefficients were very satisfactory and significant at the p  < 0.001 level. The correlations between DASS depression subscale with Beck depression test were 0.70, DASS anxiety subscale with Zang anxiety test was 0.67, and DASS stress subscale with perceived stress test was 0.49. The internal consistency of DASS scales was also calculated using Cronbach's alpha and these results were obtained: depression 0.77, anxiety 0.79 and stress 0.78 [ 28 ].

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) consists of 10 two-choice questions. Every statement that applies to the person receives the answer "I agree" and every statement that does not apply to the person receives the answer "I disagree". A positive answer to each of statements 1 to 5 will receive a positive score of one, a negative response to statements 1 to 5 will receive a negative score of one, a positive response to statements 6 to 10 will receive a negative score of one, and a negative response to statements 6 to 10 will receive a positive score of one. Then the total score is calculated. A positive score of 10 indicates the highest level of self-esteem, and a negative score of 10 indicates very low self-esteem. The retest correlation is in the range of 0.82–0.88 and the internal consistency coefficient or Cronbach's alpha is in the range of 0.77–0.88, this scale has satisfactory validity (0.77). It also has a high correlation with the New York and Guttman National Questionnaire in measuring self-esteem, so its content validity is also confirmed [ 29 ]. In Iran, Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.84 to 0.92 have been reported for this scale. Also, the reliability and validity of this tool has been checked by factor analysis, dichotomization and re-sampling methods, and the results show that this scale can be used in Iran as well [ 30 ].

The Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS): After confirming the content validity of the tool in Iran, its reliability has been confirmed by retest method (73.76) and Cronbach's alpha has been reported as 74–88%. The short form of this questionnaire was made by Bahrani in Shiraz. This questionnaire has 49 statements that are arranged on a Likert scale from completely disagree [ 1 ] to completely agree [ 5 ]. Reliability of the 49-question questionnaire used in this research was measured by Bahrani by retesting and calculating Cronbach's alpha. In the retest method, the reliability coefficient of the whole test was 0.95. Also, the internal consistency of the questionnaire was calculated as 0.77 [ 31 , 32 ].

Intervention program

In the control group, clinical training was done in the traditional way with the help of a trainer. In the intervention group, training was done by peer mentoring method with the help of fourth year operating room students and under the supervision of the instructor. Based on the overall GPA criteria, the first to sixth ranked students were selected as mentor students. Before using the students as mentors in the internship, 3 training sessions were held for them by the professors of the operating room.

In these meetings, the lesson plan of the internship course was fully explained based on the last chapter of the operating room field, and the necessary points regarding training and how to deal with students were explained.

Then, these students participated in three tests and the first to third students of each test were selected as mentors. Therefore, a total of nine students were selected as mentors. In the intervention group, internship training was carried out with the implementation of peer mentoring program during one academic semester. Students of the intervention group (35 participants) were placed in five groups of seven according to the internship program. The total training sessions of each group were 18 sessions, nine of which were conducted by the method of peer mentoring program. A total of 45 peer mentoring sessions were conducted for all groups. Each of the mentors mentored a seven-person group of mentees during nine sessions. At the beginning of each session, the mentor briefly explained the topics to the mentees according to the educational topics and guided them practically during the session. It should be noted that all the meetings were held under the supervision of the main teacher of the course and if necessary, this person provided the necessary guidance.

At the end of the academic semester, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS) were completed again by the students of the intervention and control groups.

Statistical analysis

Stata software version 14 was used for the data analysis process. Initially, the data's normality was verified using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The results were presented as mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage in the section on descriptive statistics.

The means of the study variable between the intervention and control groups were compared using an independent t-test, and the means before and after the intervention were compared using a paired t-test in the analytical statistics section. The Chi-square test was used to compare the associations between qualitative variables in the various groups.

The ANCOVA test was conducted after the intervention to control for any baseline differences in scores of self-confidence, stress, perceived anxiety, depression and academic progress between the two groups before the intervention (pre-test). This adjustment was made to account for any potential confounding factors that may have influenced the outcomes.

Univariable and multivariable linear regression by the backward method was applied to examine the association between self-confidence, stress, perceived anxiety, depression, gender, mother's education, father's education, family economic, and academic progress. A significance threshold of less than 0.05 was used.

The mean age of participants was 22.31 ± 2.59. Thirty-six individuals (51.4%) were female, and 50 individuals (71.4%) were single. Regarding education, 22 participants (31.4%) held diplomas from their fathers, and 21 participants (30%) held diplomas from their mothers. In terms of mothers' occupations, 35 individuals (52.9%) were housewives, and 31 individuals (44.3%) reported their family's economic status as medium (Table  1 ). On the other hand, there were no significant differences in age, gender, marital status, mothers' education, fathers' education, fathers' occupation, mothers' occupation, and family economic status between the intervention and control groups( p  > 0.05) (Table  1 ). Also, in terms of variables of self-confidence, stress, anxiety, depression and academic progress between the intervention and control groups, no significant difference was observed before the intervention ( p  > 0.05) (Table  2 ).

Before the intervention, high levels of stress (12.65; 12.25), anxiety (11.34; 11.02) and depression (10.08; 10.42) and low levels of self-confidence (1.31; 1.22) were observed in the intervention and control groups.

The results indicated a significant difference in the mean scores of self-confidence ( p  < 0.001), stress ( p  < 0.001), and academic progress ( p  < 0.001), between the intervention and control groups after the educational intervention. Furthermore, this difference was also statistically significant in the intervention group before and after the educational intervention ( p  < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the mean scores of anxiety and depression before and after the intervention, as well as in comparison with the control group ( p  > 0.05) (Table  2 ).

The results showed significant differences between the intervention and control groups. Post-intervention, the intervention group showed substantial increases in self-confidence (mean difference = 5.97, p  < 0.001) and significant reductions in stress levels (mean difference = -3.22, p  < 0.001). In contrast, minimal changes were observed in the control group for both self-confidence (mean difference = 0.057, p  = 0.934) and stress levels (mean difference = 0.142, p  = 0.656). While both groups exhibited decreases in anxiety and depression levels, these changes were not statistically significant ( p  > 0.05). Moreover, the intervention significantly improved academic progress in the intervention group compared to the control group (mean difference = 20.31, p  < 0.001) (Table  2 ).

The ANCOVA test was used to compare the means of self-confidence, stress, anxiety, depression and academic progress in the two groups after adjusting the Pre-test as a covariate. Results showed there was a significant difference between the means in the self-confidence, stress and academic progress before and after intervention with adjusted pre- test score (before intervention) (Table  3 ).

The results of the univariate linear regression analysis showed that self-confidence and stress are associated with academic progress ( p  < 0.05) (Table  4 ). Additionally, the results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that for a one-unit increase in the stress score, the mean academic progress score decreases by 0.520 (B = -0.520, P  < 0.001). Furthermore, for a one-unit increase in age, the mean academic progress score increases by 0.220(B = 0.220, P  = 0.029). Moreover, students whose fathers have university education have, on mean, a higher academic progress score compared to students whose fathers are illiterate, with an increase of 0.212 for each unit difference in paternal education level (B = 0.212, P  = 0.036). According to the multiple regression model, 33.4% of the variations in academic progress can be predicted by stress, age, and father’s education (Table  4 ).

This research was conducted to determine the effect of peer mentoring program on clinical academic progress and psychological characteristics of operating room students.

The results showed that before the educational intervention, there was no significant difference between the control and intervention groups in demographic variables, academic progress, self-confidence, stress, anxiety and depression. It is noteworthy that according to the regression analysis, students whose fathers had a university education had a higher academic progress score compared to students whose fathers were illiterate.

The results of the study before the intervention show a high level of stress, anxiety and depression and a low level of self-confidence in students. Mohammadi's study showed the mean situational anxiety scores of the operating room students to be at a medium–high level [ 33 ]. Of course, according to Findik's study, the stress level of nursing students was low on the first day of operating room practice. It was found that students use the self-confidence approach in dealing with stress [ 34 ]. According to Norouzi's study, insufficient skills of students in communicating with staff, discrimination between paramedical students and assistants, lack of practical prerequisite skills, weak supportive performance of instructors and psychological needs are among the stressful factors of operating room students [ 3 ]. According to the students, practice with the support of staff and instructors in clinical training leads to better training. Improper interaction between staff and students negatively affects the clinical education process [ 35 , 36 ]. The results of Mohibi's research report the existence of discrimination as one of the main complaints of students in the clinical environment [ 37 ].

The results showed that training using the peer mentor method improved the mean scores of self-confidence, stress and academic progress variables in the intervention group after the educational intervention. Also, compared to the control group, the intervention group had achieved a significant improvement in the mentioned variables. In addition, the results showed that self-confidence and stress are related to academic progress, and as the stress score increases, the mean academic progress decreases. The results of Raymond's study showed that the implementation of the mentorship program was effective in reducing the stress and loneliness of first-year nursing students. In addition, an increase in their sense of self-efficacy and sense of psychological belonging was also reported [ 38 ]. According to Yoon's study, peer mentoring program increased students' self-confidence in basic nursing skills and critical thinking skills [ 39 ]. Considering that clinical educators play a fundamental role in controlling stress, creating a supportive environment and promoting students' self-confidence in the clinical learning environment [ 40 ], it seems that the use of students in the role of peer mentoring has been able to act as an important factor in increasing self-confidence, reducing stress and enjoying clinical experiences and thus improving their academic progress.

While in Walker's study, a significant reduction in the anxiety of a specific clinical situation was observed among nursing students who were guided by their peers [ 41 ], in the present study, no significant improvement was observed in the students' anxiety. It can be said that the special conditions of the operating room distinguish it from other clinical skills training departments, therefore peer training alone cannot be effective in reducing the anxiety of operating room students. Also, depression did not decrease significantly in any of the intervention and control groups. It should be said that anxiety and depression are more complex than stress and their reduction in operating room students requires the use of psychological interventions along with peer mentoring program.

Due to the limitation of the statistical population, sampling was not possible and the students were selected by census method. On the other hand, due to the special considerations of the operating room space, the implementation of the peer mentoring program faced limitations. Although the main teacher of the course was present in all the implementation sessions of the mentorship program, physicians and other clinical personnel did not trust the mentors to some extent.

Of course, the use of this training method could not be effective in reducing anxiety and depression, which can be aggravated as a result of working in the tense environment of the operating room, and it seems necessary to conduct more investigations in this field.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available because they contain raw data from study participants, and sharing these data requires participants' permission. But are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Erfani Khanghahi M, Ebadi Fard Azar F, Ebadi Fard Azar G. A Model of Effective Factors on Educational Transfer among Health Deputy Staff of Iran University of Medical Sciences. J Heal. 2020;11(2):203–12.

Article   Google Scholar  

Tazakori Z, Mehri S, Mobaraki N, Dadashi L, Ahmadi Y, Shokri F, et al. Factors affecting on quality of clinical education from perspectives of operating room students. J Heal Care. 2015;17(2):128–36.

Google Scholar  

Norouzi N, Imani B. Clinical education stressors in operating room students: a qualitative study. Investig y Educ en Enfermería. 2021;39(1):e08.

Chevillotte J. Operating room nursing diploma soon to be accessible through competence validation. Rev Infirm. 2014;199:10.

Geraghty S, Speelman C, Bayes S. Fighting a losing battle: Midwives experiences of workplace stress. Women and Birth. 2019;32(3):e297-306.

Zeng Y, Wang G, Xie C, Hu X, Reinhardt JD. Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety and symptoms of stress in vocational college nursing students from Sichuan, China: a cross-sectional study. Psychol Health Med. 2019;24(7):798–811.

Abdal M, Alavi NM, Adib-Hajbaghery M. Clinical self-efficacy in senior nursing students: A mixed-methods study. Nurs midwifery Stud. 2015;4(3):e29143.

Mussi FC, da S Pires CG, da Silva RM, de Macedo TTS, de ST Santos CA. Stress level among undergraduate nursing students related to the training phase and sociodemographic factors. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2020;28:e3209.

Hasson F, Slater PF, Guo XJ. Resilience, stress and well-being in undergraduate nursing students in China and the UK. Int J Res Nurs. 2021;12(1):11–20.

Mirbagher Ajorpaz N, Zagheri Tafreshi M, Mohtashami J, Zayeri F. Mentoring in training of operating room students: A systematic review. J Nurs Educ. 2016;5(3):47–54.

Nguyen T, Netto CLM, Wilkins JF, Bröker P, Vargas EE, Sealfon CD, et al. Insights into students’ experiences and perceptions of remote learning methods: From the COVID-19 pandemic to best practice for the future. In: Frontiers in Education. Frontiers; 2021. p. 91.

Kurganovna KD, Abdusalamovna AS, Sabirovna AN, Gafurovna AS. The Use Of Interactive Methods And Literary Lessons And High School Education. J Posit Sch Psychol. 2022;6(10):4328–32.

Hartikainen S, Rintala H, Pylväs L, Nokelainen P. The concept of active learning and the measurement of learning outcomes: A review of research in engineering higher education. Educ Sci. 2019;9(4):276.

Cho HJ, Zhao K, Lee CR, Runshe D, Krousgrill C. Active learning through flipped classroom in mechanical engineering: improving students’ perception of learning and performance. Int J Stem Educ. 2021;8:1–3.

Tudevdagva U, Heller A, Hardt W. An implementation and evaluation report of the active learning method eduscrum in flipped class. Int J Inf Educ Technol. 2020;10(9):649–54.

Lima RM, Andersson PH, Saalman E. Active Learning in Engineering Education: a (re) introduction. Eur J Eng Educ. 2017;2;42(1):1–4.

Fard ZR, Azadi A, Khorshidi A, Mozafari M, O’Connor T, Budri AMV, et al. A comparison of faculty led, mentorship program and peer mentoring on nursing students wound dressing clinical skills. Nurse Educ Today. 2020;89: 104378.

Mullen CA, Klimaitis CC. Defining mentoring: a literature review of issues, types, and applications. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2021;1483(1):19–35.

Safari M, Yazdanpanah B, Islam-Nik PS. Comparison of midwifery students satisfaction with the teaching of gynecology and infertility by lecture and peer education. Armaghane Danesh. 2019;23(6):722–36.

Messerer DAC, Kraft SF, Horneffer A, Messerer LAS, Böckers TM, Böckers A. What factors motivate male and female Generation Z students to become engaged as peer teachers? A mixed-method study among medical and dental students in the gross anatomy course. Anat Sci Educ. 2022;15(4):650–62.

Ahmed M, Muldoon TJ, Elsaadany M. Employing faculty, peer mentoring, and coaching to increase the self-confidence and belongingness of first-generation college students in biomedical engineering. J Biomech Eng. 2021;143(12): 121001.

Davey Z, Jackson D, Henshall C. The value of nurse mentoring relationships: Lessons learnt from a work-based resilience enhancement programme for nurses working in the forensic setting. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2020;29(5):992–1001.

Sadeghi A, Oshvandi K, Moradi Y. Explaining the inhibitory characteristics of clinical instructors in the process of developing clinical competence of nursing students: a qualitative study. J Fam Med Prim care. 2019;8(5):1664.

Gemuhay HM, Kalolo A, Mirisho R, Chipwaza B, Nyangena E. Factors affecting performance in clinical practice among preservice diploma nursing students in Northern Tanzania. Nurs Res Pract. 2019;2019:3453085.

Zarrabi M, Imanieh M, Zarrabi K, Masjedi M, Kojuri J, Amini M, et al. Designing and organizing mentoring at shiraz medical school and reinforcing deep knowledge–based education using mentoring. J Med Spirit Cultiv. 2017;26(3):228–36.

Antony MM, Bieling PJ, Cox BJ, Enns MW, Swinson RP. Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychol Assess. 1998;10(2):176.

Maleki A, Asghari M, Salari R. Credit terms of scale, depression, anxiety Vastrs DASS-21 in the Iranian populatio1. Maleki A, Asghari M, Salari R. Credit terms of scale, depression, anxiety Vastrs DASS-21 in the Iranian population. J Iran Psychol. 2005;1(4):9–12.

Sahebi A, Asghari MJ, Salari RS. Validation of depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21) for an Iranian population. J Iran Psychol. 2005;1(4):36–54.

Martín-Albo J, Núñez JL, Navarro JG, Grijalvo F. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: translation and validation in university students. Span J Psychol. 2007;10(2):458–67.

Amini Manesh S, Nazari AM, Moradi A, Farzad V. Youth online gaming addiction: the role of self esteem, anxiety and depression. Strateg Stud Youth Sport. 2014;13(25):97–112.

Bahrani M. The study of validity and reliability of Harter’s scale of educational motivation. J Psychol Stud. 2009;5(1):51–72.

Østerlie O, Løhre A, Haugan G. The Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS) in physical education: A validation study among Norwegian adolescents. Cogent Educ. 2019;6(1):1603613.

Mohammadi G, Tourdeh M, Ebrahimian A. Effect of simulation-based training method on the psychological health promotion in operating room students during the educational internship. J Educ Health Promot. 2019;8:172.

Findik UY, Ozbas A, Cavdar I, Topcu SY, Onler E. Assessment of nursing students’ stress levels and coping strategies in operating room practice. Nurse Educ Pract. 2015;15(3):192–5.

Al-Zayyat AS, Al-Gamal E. Perceived stress and coping strategies among J ordanian nursing students during clinical practice in psychiatric/mental health courses. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2014;23(4):326–35.

Bazrafkan L, Najafi Kalyani M. Nursing students’ experiences of clinical education: A qualitative study. Investig y Educ en Enferm. 2018;36(3):e04.

Mohebbi Z, Rambod M, Hashemi F, Mohammadi HR, Setoudeh G, Najafi DS. View point of the nursing students on challenges in clinical training, Shiraz. Iran Hormozgan Med J. 2012;16(5):415–21.

Raymond JM, Sheppard K. Effects of peer mentoring on nursing students’ perceived stress, sense of belonging, self-efficacy and loneliness. J Nurs Educ Pr. 2017;8(1):16.

Yoon MO, Ju YS. The effects of peer mentoring learnings-based preclinical OSCE program on self-confidence on core basic nursing skills and critical thinking disposition for nursing student. J Digit Converg. 2017;15(7):285–95.

Arkan B, Ordin Y, Yılmaz D. Undergraduate nursing students’ experience related to their clinical learning environment and factors affecting to their clinical learning process. Nurse Educ Pract. 2018;29:127–32.

Walker D, Verklan T. Peer mentoring during practicum to reduce anxiety in first-semester nursing students. J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(11):651–4.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors of this study wish to express their gratitude to all the students, especially Miss Azadeh Nasiri and the officials of Khomein University of Medical Sciences.

Informed consent

All participants provided written informed consent.

This research was supported by Khomain University of Medical Sciences (No: 400000009).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran

Amin Sedigh

Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Education and Learning Technologies, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Sara Bagheri

Student Research Committee, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran

Pariya Naeimi

Department of Public Health, Torbat Jam Faculty of Medical Sciences, Torbat Jam, Iran

Vahid Rahmanian

Department of Public Health, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran

Nader Sharifi

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: A S, S B; Data curation: A S, P N; Formal analysis:  N SH, V R; Methodology: A S, S B, N SH; Project administration: A S, P N, N SH; Writing–original draft: N SH, V R; Writing–review & editing: all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nader Sharifi .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Ethical approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee at the Khomain University of Medical Sciences (Code IR.KHOMEIN.REC.1400.010). All study participants provided written informed consent. Confidentiality and anonymity were ensured. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were by the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Sedigh, A., Bagheri, S., Naeimi, P. et al. The effect of peer mentoring program on clinical academic progress and psychological characteristics of operating room students: a parallel randomized controlled trial. BMC Med Educ 24 , 438 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05424-z

Download citation

Received : 29 December 2023

Accepted : 12 April 2024

Published : 22 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05424-z

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Operating Room

BMC Medical Education

ISSN: 1472-6920

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]

• Departments, units, and programs
• College leadership
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Faculty and staff resources
• LAS Strategic Plan

• Apply to LAS
• Liberal arts & sciences majors
• LAS Insider blog
• Admissions FAQs
• Parent resources
• Pre-college summer programs

Quick Links

Request info

• Academic policies and standing
• Advising and support
• College distinctions
• Dates and deadlines
• Intercollegiate transfers
• LAS Lineup student newsletter
• Programs of study
• Scholarships
• Certificates
• Student emergencies

Student resources

• Access and Achievement Program
• Career services
• First-Year Experience
• Honors program
• International programs
• Internship opportunities
• Paul M. Lisnek LAS Hub
• Student research opportunities
• Expertise in LAS
• Research facilities and centers
• Dean's Distinguished Lecture series
• Alumni advice
• Alumni award programs
• Get involved
• LAS Alumni Council
• LAS@Work: Alumni careers
• Study Abroad Alumni Networks
• Update your information
• Nominate an alumnus for an LAS award
• Faculty honors
• The Quadrangle Online
• LAS News email newsletter archive
• LAS social media
• Media contact in the College of LAS
• LAS Landmark Day of Giving
• About giving to LAS
• Building projects
• Corporate engagement
• Faculty support
• Lincoln Scholars Initiative
• Impact of giving

Why is critical thinking important?

What do lawyers, accountants, teachers, and doctors all have in common?

What is critical thinking?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines critical thinking as “The objective, systematic, and rational analysis and evaluation of factual evidence in order to form a judgment on a subject, issue, etc.” Critical thinking involves the use of logic and reasoning to evaluate available facts and/or evidence to come to a conclusion about a certain subject or topic. We use critical thinking every day, from decision-making to problem-solving, in addition to thinking critically in an academic context!

Why is critical thinking important for academic success?

You may be asking “why is critical thinking important for students?” Critical thinking appears in a diverse set of disciplines and impacts students’ learning every day, regardless of major.

Critical thinking skills are often associated with the value of studying the humanities. In majors such as English, students will be presented with a certain text—whether it’s a novel, short story, essay, or even film—and will have to use textual evidence to make an argument and then defend their argument about what they’ve read. However, the importance of critical thinking does not only apply to the humanities. In the social sciences, an economics major , for example, will use what they’ve learned to figure out solutions to issues as varied as land and other natural resource use, to how much people should work, to how to develop human capital through education. Problem-solving and critical thinking go hand in hand. Biology is a popular major within LAS, and graduates of the biology program often pursue careers in the medical sciences. Doctors use critical thinking every day, tapping into the knowledge they acquired from studying the biological sciences to diagnose and treat different diseases and ailments.

Students in the College of LAS take many courses that require critical thinking before they graduate. You may be asked in an Economics class to use statistical data analysis to evaluate the impact on home improvement spending when the Fed increases interest rates (read more about real-world experience with Datathon ). If you’ve ever been asked “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?”, you may find yourself thinking about the Roman Empire more than you thought—maybe in an English course, where you’ll use text from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra to make an argument about Roman imperial desire.  No matter what the context is, critical thinking will be involved in your academic life and can take form in many different ways.

The benefits of critical thinking in everyday life

Building better communication.

One of the most important life skills that students learn as early as elementary school is how to give a presentation. Many classes require students to give presentations, because being well-spoken is a key skill in effective communication. This is where critical thinking benefits come into play: using the skills you’ve learned, you’ll be able to gather the information needed for your presentation, narrow down what information is most relevant, and communicate it in an engaging way. 

Typically, the first step in creating a presentation is choosing a topic. For example, your professor might assign a presentation on the Gilded Age and provide a list of figures from the 1870s—1890s to choose from. You’ll use your critical thinking skills to narrow down your choices. You may ask yourself:

• What figure am I most familiar with?
• Who am I most interested in? 
• Will I have to do additional research? 

After choosing your topic, your professor will usually ask a guiding question to help you form a thesis: an argument that is backed up with evidence. Critical thinking benefits this process by allowing you to focus on the information that is most relevant in support of your argument. By focusing on the strongest evidence, you will communicate your thesis clearly.

Finally, once you’ve finished gathering information, you will begin putting your presentation together. Creating a presentation requires a balance of text and visuals. Graphs and tables are popular visuals in STEM-based projects, but digital images and graphics are effective as well. Critical thinking benefits this process because the right images and visuals create a more dynamic experience for the audience, giving them the opportunity to engage with the material.

Presentation skills go beyond the classroom. Students at the University of Illinois will often participate in summer internships to get professional experience before graduation. Many summer interns are required to present about their experience and what they learned at the end of the internship. Jobs frequently also require employees to create presentations of some kind—whether it’s an advertising pitch to win an account from a potential client, or quarterly reporting, giving a presentation is a life skill that directly relates to critical thinking. 

Fostering independence and confidence

An important life skill many people start learning as college students and then finessing once they enter the “adult world” is how to budget. There will be many different expenses to keep track of, including rent, bills, car payments, and groceries, just to name a few! After developing your critical thinking skills, you’ll put them to use to consider your salary and budget your expenses accordingly. Here’s an example:

• You earn a salary of $75,000 a year. Assume all amounts are before taxes.
• 1,800 x 12 = 21,600
• 75,000 – 21,600 = 53,400
• This leaves you with $53,400
• 320 x 12 = 3,840 a year
• 53,400-3,840= 49,560
• 726 x 12 = 8,712
• 49,560 – 8,712= 40,848
• You’re left with $40,848 for miscellaneous expenses. You use your critical thinking skills to decide what to do with your $40,848. You think ahead towards your retirement and decide to put $500 a month into a Roth IRA, leaving $34,848. Since you love coffee, you try to figure out if you can afford a daily coffee run. On average, a cup of coffee will cost you $7. 7 x 365 = $2,555 a year for coffee. 34,848 – 2,555 = 32,293
• You have $32,293 left. You will use your critical thinking skills to figure out how much you would want to put into savings, how much you want to save to treat yourself from time to time, and how much you want to put aside for emergency funds. With the benefits of critical thinking, you will be well-equipped to budget your lifestyle once you enter the working world.

Enhancing decision-making skills

Choosing the right university for you.

One of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your life is what college or university to go to. There are many factors to consider when making this decision, and critical thinking importance will come into play when determining these factors.

Many high school seniors apply to colleges with the hope of being accepted into a certain program, whether it’s biology, psychology, political science, English, or something else entirely. Some students apply with certain schools in mind due to overall rankings. Students also consider the campus a school is set in. While some universities such as the University of Illinois are nestled within college towns, New York University is right in Manhattan, in a big city setting. Some students dream of going to large universities, and other students prefer smaller schools. The diversity of a university’s student body is also a key consideration. For many 17- and 18-year-olds, college is a time to meet peers from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds and learn about life experiences different than one’s own.

With all these factors in mind, you’ll use critical thinking to decide which are most important to you—and which school is the right fit for you.

Develop your critical thinking skills at the University of Illinois

At the University of Illinois, not only will you learn how to think critically, but you will put critical thinking into practice. In the College of LAS, you can choose from 70+ majors where you will learn the importance and benefits of critical thinking skills. The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at U of I offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in life, physical, and mathematical sciences; humanities; and social and behavioral sciences. No matter which program you choose, you will develop critical thinking skills as you go through your courses in the major of your choice. And in those courses, the first question your professors may ask you is, “What is the goal of critical thinking?” You will be able to respond with confidence that the goal of critical thinking is to help shape people into more informed, more thoughtful members of society.

With such a vast representation of disciplines, an education in the College of LAS will prepare you for a career where you will apply critical thinking skills to real life, both in and outside of the classroom, from your undergraduate experience to your professional career. If you’re interested in becoming a part of a diverse set of students and developing skills for lifelong success, apply to LAS today!

Read more first-hand stories from our amazing students at the LAS Insider blog .

• Privacy Notice
• Accessibility

RIT Industrial Design MFA Thesis

Monday, April 29, 2024 to Saturday, May 4, 2024 Reception: May 2, 2024 - 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm

The Industrial Design MFA at the Rochester Institute of Technology is an interdisciplinary, multinational program focused on design foundations and guided exploration. The faculty represent a diverse range of industry and academic backgrounds, providing students balanced exposure to applied research and human-centered processes. The course of study emphasizes progressive skill sets, a rich variety of projects, and design with meaningful intent. MFA candidates are challenged to develop individualized approaches to design through collaboration with students and faculty across the university. Industry partnerships factor heavily into coursework, grounding conceptual design in production-oriented outcomes. Recent and ongoing partnerships include the Corning Museum of Glass, Arc of Monroe, Loll, Autodesk, GE, Herman Miller, and Fabrica. Aesthetic sensitivity, technical competence, social and environmental awareness, and analytical thought are developed and applied to meet the challenge of designing products, packaging and systems for human needs. Through hands-on experience in graphic visualization, technical drawing, model making and prototype development, graduates emerge with the skills needed to conceptualize, design, and develop new and improved products for mass production.  Through collaborative projects with industry sponsors, students work on actual product designs and develop skills in specialized areas including electronic product design, toy and game design, furniture design, exhibit and display design, and package design. This exhibition is the culmination of design work by eleven Masters of Fine Arts candidates. 

UWO chancellor, faculty express optimism about working together after no-confidence vote

'the shared stewardship of uwo is strong,' leavitt said..

OSHKOSH ― University of Wisconsin Oshkosh faculty and university administration are working together to find a path forward.

Both Chancellor Andrew Leavitt and Faculty Senate President Pascale Manning are expressing optimism about working together less than a week after UWO faculty issued a resounding no-confidence vote in Leavitt.

According to Manning’s weekly president’s blog, the two sides had a lengthy meeting a couple of weeks ago in which they “frankly” addressed faculty’s concerns over Leavitt’s leadership and identified where changes could be made to fix the ongoing challenges.

“I was heartened by the conversation and by Chancellor Leavitt’s clear concern to address the issues raised by faculty,” Manning wrote in the entry.

“It will not be easy to rebuild trust between the faculty and senior administration, but I have expressed my optimism that this is achievable and my unflagging commitment to assisting in that process.”

Academic restructuring: UW Oshkosh, facing deficit, undergoes academic restructuring to save $1.5M annually

164 professors said they lacked confidence in Chancellor Leavitt's leadership.

The meeting between Leavitt and Manning came days after faculty publicly rejected Leavitt, with 164 professors, or 72% of responding faculty, saying they lacked confidence in the chancellor’s leadership through difficult budget cuts and massive layoffs.

Leavitt confirmed the meeting in a separate email to the Northwestern, echoing Manning’s sentiments about a renewed collaborative effort.

“We all have some ideas about how best to continue meeting, making decisions and working together. The shared stewardship of UWO is strong,” Leavitt responded when pressed about the current relationship with his faculty.

The comments came after UWO faculty leveled several charges against Leavitt, including what they termed a “unilateral” leadership style.

Leavitt responded to the initial petition for the no-confidence vote with a 4,443-word blog post in which he called faculty claims “unsubstantiated and inaccurate.”

Despite the no-confidence vote, UW Board of Regents President Karen Walsh, Vice President Amy Bogost and UW System President Jay Rothman threw their full support behind Leavitt — likely setting the stage for Leavitt’s meeting with the faculty senate.

Only the Regents Board has the authority to fire UW chancellors, although a 2022 analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education showed college presidents leave office within a year about 50% of the time they receive a no-confidence vote.

When asked by the Northwestern if he ever considered resigning after the vote, Leavitt responded by writing “no.”

A recent Deloitte audit described UWO leadership as 'responsive and decisive.'

Leavitt was further reassured by a recently released audit from Deloitte , which described UWO leadership as “responsive and decisive” in reducing a $15 million deficit to $3 million in a matter of months.

“We made difficult, and necessary, decisions months ago that regrettably impacted many people but were in the best interest of the institution,” Leavitt said.

“The financial assessments offer validation of those actions and UWO’s path forward. We appreciate the third-party examination and expertise.”

UWO laid off 140 staff members in October while another 76 accepted voluntary retirement offers, and the Deloitte report said the university’s “future was at risk” without those “significant and immediate changes.”

The Deloitte report still paints a challenging outlook for UWO in light of the remaining $3 million deficit, declining enrollment, lower retention numbers and the almost exhausted GPO reserves.

Leavitt, however, expects to eliminate the structural deficit entirely by the end of the 2025 fiscal year through the university’s new academic structure, which was announced April 19 .

UWO commencement: Axios CEO Jim VandeHei will headline UWO's commencement ceremonies

As part of the university's new academic structure, UWO's 4 colleges will be consolidated into 3.

UWO’s four colleges will be consolidated into three with a goal of saving around $1.5 million annually.

“Additionally, UWO will: maintain position discipline; finish a comprehensive facilities plan to thoughtfully guide closures and demolitions of low-use buildings into the future (such as low-occupancy residence halls); consider the sale of unused property; and evaluate vendor contracts with consideration of outsourcing of auxiliary services,” Leavitt wrote.

“Everyone here is invested in a more sustainable UWO, and I hope the public sees us changing to realize that goal.”

Leavitt also addressed the campus’s financial challenges and budget cuts during a town hall April 17 hosted by student government. During that event, advocates for disabled students expressed frustrations over recent cutbacks while other students questioned the handling of the budget deficit.

“I'm concerned reading the joint statement made by System President Rothman, Regent Vice President Bogost and Regent President Walsh [because] nowhere in their statement did they address any of the concerns brought by the faculty senate or by students in recent news articles,” wrote political science major and former student senator Devin Heinz in an email to the Northwestern.

“I believe they owe a greater explanation for their continued support of the Chancellor given that the person they have tasked with leading UW Oshkosh has completely lost the trust of the people expected to call him their leader.”

Have a story tip or public interest concern?   Contact Justin Marville at  [email protected] .

Wall Street is souring on Tesla's pivot away from low-cost vehicles towards autonomous driving

• Tesla is losing the confidence of Wall Street amid reports it's pivoting from a low-cost Model 2 to robotaxis.
• Deutsche Bank just downgraded Tesla's stock and Barclays cut its price target. Both see double-digit declines over the next year.
• "We view Tesla's shift as thesis-changing, and worry the stock will need to undergo a potentially painful transition in ownership base," Deutsche Bank said.

Another day, another negative Tesla note from Wall Street.

Tesla has come under intense scrutiny from sell-side analysts after a Reuters report from earlier this month said that the EV maker was shifting away from its low-cost Model 2 vehicle to instead focus on building a fully-autonomous robotaxi.

Deutsche Bank downgrades Tesla

Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner is not impressed with the potential pivot, calling it "thesis-changing" for investors in a note on Thursday.

Rosner downgraded Tesla stock to "Hold" from "Buy" and cut its price target to $123 from $189, suggesting potential downside of about 19% from current levels. 

"Pushing out Model 2 will create significant earnings and FCF pressure on 2026+ estimates, and make the future of the company tied to Tesla cracking the code on full driverless autonomy, which represents a significant technological, regulatory and operational challenge," Rosner said. 

Rosner slashed his 2027 earnings per share estimate for Tesla to $2.40 from a prior estimate of $4.25, and added that there could be further downside to the company's earnings power if they completely abandon the development of a low-cost vehicle. 

"The delay of Model 2 efforts creates the risk of no new vehicle in Tesla's consumer lineup for the foreseeable future, which would put continued downward pressure on its volume and pricing for many more years, requiring downward earnings estimate revisions for 2026+," Rosner said.

Tesla stock fell 2% in early Thursday trading, and is down nearly 40% year-to-date. 

Perhaps the biggest risk to Tesla, aside from lower earnings, is the idea that a pivot to robotaxis could cause a complete recalibration of its underlying shareholder base.

"We view Tesla's shift as thesis-changing, and worry the stock will need to undergo a potentially painful transition in ownership base, with investors previously focused on Tesla's EV volume and cost advantage potentially throwing in the towel, and eventually replaced by AI/tech investors with considerably longer time horizons," Rosen said.

Barclays cuts Tesla price target

It's not just Deutsche Bank that has soured on Tesla.

Barclays slashed its Tesla price target on Wednesday by 20%, and said it expects the company's first-quarter earnings call next week to be a negative catalyst.

Calling it "one of the most widely anticipated calls ever," Barclays analyst Dan Levy said the company is facing challenging near-term fundamentals in combination with a longer-term "investment thesis pivot" as it considers moving away from the Model 2.

According to Levy, if Tesla is indeed moving away from the Model 2, that would be bad news for the stock valuation going forward, calling it a "clear net negative for the Tesla investment thesis."

"It casts significant uncertainty on the path ahead for Tesla, making success of the stock dependent on bets with seemingly binary outcomes," Levy said. "Indeed, we are hard pressed to think of any other precedent of a company of Tesla's size basing its path of success on such binary bets."

Wedbush also concerned about Model 2 pivot

Even long-time Tesla bull Dan Ives is worried about Tesla's potential pivot away from a low-cost Model 2.

In a note from last week, Ives said Tesla needs to commit to its Model 2 development plans if it wants to have any chance in reversing this year's painful stock price decline. 

"If robotaxis is viewed as the 'magic model' to replace Model 2 we would view this as a debacle negative for the Tesla story. It would be a risky gamble if Tesla moved away from the Model 2 and went straight to robotaxis," Ives said.

Ives said Wall Street's criticism of Tesla is warranted, especially given the fact that the EV maker has seen declining profit margins and its first year-over-year sales decline since 2020.

"For Musk, this is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise dark days could be ahead," Ives said. 

• Main content