Sources of Science Self-Efficacy in Primary and Secondary Students: A Systematic Review of Qualitative

Efficacy beliefs shape how students think about science and engage with learning. A substantial body of research has linked science self-efficacy (SSE) to outcomes such as persistence, interest, and achievement, prompting interest in how these beliefs are formed and sustained via Bandura’s four sources: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological and affective states. Only six mixed-methods studies have examined how SSE develops using qualitative data alongside quantitative approaches. This systematic review examines what these qualitative contributions add to our understanding of SSE and what they indicate about the value of further qualitative research. The analysis identifies how students’ beliefs about their scientific capabilities are shaped through classroom interactions, teacher practices, assessment systems, and school cultures. Across studies, mastery experiences emerge as the most influential source, yet their impact depends on how performance, understanding, and progress are framed and interpreted. Compared with the mathematics literature, which more often foregrounds beliefs about ability and performance, these science studies attend more to classroom experiences, instructional structures, and students’ meaning-making. The review concludes that further qualitative research is needed to capture Bandura’s four sources as contextually mediated processes shaped by teacher practices and school cultures, and not as fixed psychological mechanisms.