This study investigated relationships between self-efficacy, self-esteem, previous performance accomplishments, and academic performance among a sample of 205 postgraduate students. Participants completed measures of past performance accomplishments, self-esteem, and self-efficacy at the start of a 15-week course. Each student's average grade from modules studied was used as the performance measure. Correlation results indicated significant relationships between self-efficacy and self-esteem. Multiple regression results indicated that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between performance accomplishments and academic performance. Findings lend support to the predictive effectiveness of self-efficacy measures in academic settings.

The aim in the present study was to examine the predictive effectiveness of self-efficacy in an academic setting. Seventy-six postgraduate students completed a questionnaire to assess efficacy expectations toward competencies perceived to underpin performance on the course. As there was a 13-week difference in time between completing the self-efficacy questionnaire and completing the performance criterion, it was considered important to assess the stability of self-efficacy measures. To this end, participants completed the same items 1 week later. Test-retest reliability results indicated that efficacy to cope with intellectual demands, pass first time, and achieve a specific grade were relatively stable. Performance was assessed using end of the semester grades. Regression results showed that "self-efficacy to cope with the intellectual demands of the program" predicted 11.5% of performance variance. Given that there was a 13-week time gap between self-efficacy and performance and that the complexity of the task was high, findings from the present study suggest that self-efficacy has some utility in an academic setting.

The present study explored predictive paths between performance accomplishments, self-ef®cacy, and performance among Sport Studies students taking a Level 1 statistics module. Fifty-eight Level 1 Sport Studies undergraduate degree students completed a 44-item self-ef®cacy measure and an assessment of perceived academic success at the start of the module. Self-assessed worksheets taken in weeks 4 and 5 were used as a second performance measure. Self-ef®cacy was re-assessed in week 7 and students handed the assignment for the module in week 8. Path analysis results using structural equation modeling indicated that perceived academic success was associated with the ®rst self-ef®cacy measure, which in turn predicted worksheet success, and the two self-ef®cacy measures correlated. The second self-ef®cacy measure predicted module performance, and importantly showed the strongest relationship of all predictor variables. We suggest that future research should investigate the effectiveness of strategies designed to enhance self-ef®cacy.

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Self-ratings and supervisor ratings were obtained for 40 unit managers. Self-ratings were predicted by length of service, whereas supervisor ratings were also predicted by previous appraisal ratings, performance, and career progression. Both self-ratings and supervisor ratings predicted subsequent performance in the form of unit admissions and gross profit. The predictive power of self-ratings was explained in terms of the interactive theory of self-efficacy .While the use of supervisor ratings continues to be widespread for purposes of appraisal, placement and promotion, the full potential of self-assessment has yet to be realized. One of the reasons for this imbalance may be that self-assessment has its theoretical roots in a paradigm which is currently unfashionable in applied psychology: interactionism. A second is that the pendulum of fashion in management practice has swung towards the 'manager's right to manage' school of thought and away from employee participation. Reviews of the properties of self-assessment as a psychometric device give some encouragement. Mabe &West (1982) reviewed 55 studies, and Thornton (1980) reviewed 22.In their meta-analytic study, Mabe & West obtained a mean validity of only .29 (SD .25). However, they discovered several moderating variables which predicted the variability in the 55 validity coefficients very successfully (R = .64). These moderators were both personal and situational. The person variables were intelligence, achievement and locus of control. The situational variables were whether the self-raters know that their rating will be compared with their performance; whether they have previous experience of rating themselves; whether the instructions guarantee anonymity; and whether the instructions emphasize comparison with others. Thornton (1980) concentrated upon comparing self-ratings with other forms of rating. He found that they tended to show more leniency error, less variability and less discriminant validity, but had the advantage of being less susceptible to the halo effect. Meyer ( 1980) clearly demonstrated the leniency error by asking employees to compare themselves with others at the same grade in the organization. Forty per cent placed themselves in the top 10 per cent, although this effect was attenuated when the Dr. John Lane is a Director of