Effects of Self-Efficacy on Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract Earlier researches show effects of self-efficacy on students’ learning and achievement. Self- efficacy has operationally defined as one’s belief that people can successfully perform a given task. The main purpose of the paper is to discuss how self-efficacy developed and the way it influences students’ academic performance in addition to social interaction with peers. A scenario was given to Pakistani schools’ student by solving mathematical problems. Present study was designed to study the impact of self-efficacy on 15 boys, students of the 5th grade of a local school. Hague’s (1990) Urdu Self-efficacy scale was administered. It was found that students with high self-efficacy obtained higher scores on 50 mathematical problems test. Further, content analysis of interviewees’ responses showed that students with high self-efficacy planned to study complex subjects in future. A cross-cultural study is strongly recommended in this issue that determines the students’ future. Keyword: Self-efficacy, Mathematical problems, Pakistani students, Complex course.