Does Project Children’s University Increase Academic Self-Efficacy in 6th Graders? A Weak Experimental Design

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether students’ academic self-efficacy levels increase through a 20 week of education that is based on the problem-based learning theory and transmitted in an inter-disciplinary manner in Project Children’s University. The project aimed to teach students to learn how to learn. Eventually, students will be life-long learners and gain sustainable learning skills. In order to observe the effect of Project Children’s University, academic self-efficacy levels are measured in terms of “self-efficacy in ability”, “context”, and “education quality domains”. Changes in treatment group students’ academic self-efficacy levels are modeled in growth curve modeling framework throughout three waves. Then, they are compared with those of control group students using Welch’s t test. Results have shown that the levels of academic self-efficacy throughout the research have fallen significantly for the treatment group students. In addition, the levels of self-efficacy in ability of the treatment group students were significantly higher than the levels of the control group students. On the other hand, the levels of context of the treatment group students were significantly lower than the levels of the control group students. In conclusion, Project Children’s University has failed to increase students’ academic self-efficacy levels, but entitled them to understand what academic self-efficacy really means, to socialize, to be self-confident students, and to criticize themselves more rationally.

Opinions of Preschool Teachers and Pre-Service Teachers on Environmental Education and Environmental Awareness for Sustainable Development in the Preschool Period

“…The concept of sustainability is defined as a participatory process that ensures the prudent use of social, cultural, scientific, natural and human resources of the society and that creates a social point of view on the basis of respecting this [2]. In its simplest terms, sustainability is to protect natural resources and make the most effective use of them [3]. The term "sustainable development", which was first used in the mid-1970s, is defined as "the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" in the report prepared by the Brundtland Commission.…”

Facilitating Problem Solving in a University Undergraduate Physics Classroom: The Case of Students’ Self-Efficacy

“…The opposite is true for teachers with lower self-efficacy levels (Pan, 2014). Some reviews of research on self-efficacy by Sachitra and Bandara (2017), Smith and Hung (2016), and Toytok and Gurel (2019) have suggested new ways of raising students' capabilities in performing given tasks. All acknowledged that instructional approaches that support collaborative learning improved students' learning achievements and awareness of problem-solving.…”

“…Students need support as they learn new skills, as well as computational reasons for developing the epistemic metacognitive resources required to solve conceptual MIP problems (Kriek & Koontse, 2017). Prior research indicates that some instructional approaches that provide opportunities for students to solve problems collaboratively are consistently more successful than others in assisting students in developing a high sense of self-efficacy in problem-solving (Pamuk et al, 2017;Pendergast et al, 2011;Toytok & Gurel, 2019;Zee & Koomen, 2016). In this regard, a collaborative learning environment (CLE) is a didactic situation in which individuals (e.g., students) are assigned a task or a problem to solve and they do so by searching for understanding, meaning, or solutions, and the sum of the individual solutions yields a collective solution (Geifman & Raban, 2015;Iwuanyanwu, 2020).…”

“…The literature is replete with evidence that self-efficacy is strongly related to academic achievement across several scientific fields (e.g., Juan et al, 2018;Kriek & Koontse, 2017;Schwab, 2019). In one sense, a student's belief in his or her ability to act in a way that leads to success has been shown to influence personal performance in many domains (Ahn et al, 2017;Toytok & Gurel, 2019). Since a student's belief in his or her abilities influences goal selection, persistence in the face of difficulties, and, as a result, task performance (Bandura, 2015), educators' primary responsibility in teaching problem solving skills to students is to increase and sustain students' selfefficacy in their learning (Salazar & Hayward, 2018).…”

The Effect of Students’ Experience with the Transition from Primary to Secondary School on Self-Regulated Learning and Motivation

“…This shift of the students to an upper level of education is associated with a number of social, educational, and developmental issues, such as disruptions of social networks, less individual attention from teachers, 'forcing the limits' as an attempt to adjust to a new learning environment, weakening the student's self-concept and capability to cope well, less motivating teacher methodology, leading to students' diminished interest and engagement, and peer pressure, resulting in running away from classes, low academic performance, and engaging in risk behaviors [67,68]. As such, students have to reconstruct their identities, including their self-efficacy, self-esteem, social competence, and academic standing within a mixed network of new peers and multiple teachers in circling class sessions [69][70][71].…”