Association between Self-Efficacy and Learning Conformity among Chinese University Students: Differences by Gender

Abstract

Background: Although past research highlights the impact of self-efficacy on university students’ learning motivation, examining potential links with specific types of learning conformity is limited. The current study examined associations between Chinese university students’ perceived self-efficacy and learning conformity across different types of learning motivation.Methods: A total of 339 Chinese university students were surveyed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Learning Conformity Scale. Multiple regression models were constructed to focus on the mechanisms of general self-efficacy on learning conformity. Results: (1) There are three types of learning conformity: learning abidance, learning obedience, and learning compliance. (2) General self-efficacy has a negative effect on learning obedience. In contrast, it positively affects learning abidance and learning compliance. (3) The general self-efficacy of girls is lower than that of boys. Still, girls are more likely to be motivated to learn compliance than boys. Conclusions: The study reveals that it is essential to stimulate students’ motivation to learn abidance to love learning from the inside out; to improve girls’ self-efficacy; to raise students’ awareness of self-respect and self-development; and to encourage self-approval in public institutions.

Physical activity, problematic smartphone use, and burnout among Chinese college students

“…Gender inequality does not appear to be supported by current findings in the school setting. Female students have lower self-efficacy than male students in the learning process and are more likely to be academically compliant ( Xiao & Song, 2022 ). These conflicts remain to be verified by transferring to a larger heterogeneous sample.…”

The Mediation Role of Self-Control in the Association of Self-Efficacy and Physical Activity in College Students

“…A study conducted in South Korea found persistent gender differences in adolescents' levels of self-control, with males having lower self-control than females [45]. Secondly, an experiment conducted in 2022 with Chinese undergraduate students showed gender differences in self-efficacy, showing that the overall self-efficacy of female college students is lower than that of male college students [46]. Finally, studies by Cla and Sallis validated gender differences in PA [47,48].…”

Trajectories of college students' general self-efficacy, the related predictors, and depression: A piecewise growth mixture modeling approach

“…Previous studies on general self-efficacy mainly used cross-sectional data [ [8] , [9] , [10] ], a few longitudinal studies had insufficient sample sizes [ 11 ], and most participants were from the same university [ 12 ]. Furthermore, studies noticed the average trajectory of general self-efficacy but ignored the heterogeneity among different groups [ 13 ].…”