Self-efficacy in physics subject, physics examination and physics experiments of tertiary General Physics students

Abstract

The self-­efficacy of tertiary General Physics students was analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. Three sub fields or domains were considered in the study, namely Physics subject, Physics exams and Physics experiments. Survey questions to measure the students' self-­efficacy which is based on a 4-­point scale were constructed and were given to the students. To assess their self-efficacy, proper statistical analyses were implemented. Analysis of the results showed that the students' self-­efficacy is relatively high in the Physics experiment domain, which could mean that students tend to resort to a less theoretical treatment of Physics, where most students are capable. Furthermore, the students' responses have a strong correlation coefficient which could be analyzed in terms of self-­efficacy dependence, wherein the students' self-­efficacy in a certain domain could affect their self-efficacy in the other domain.