Self-Efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to succeed in achieving an outcome or reaching a goal.

This belief, specific to a task or an area of knowledge or performance, shapes the behaviors and strategies that help one pursue their goal. High self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one’s own motivation, behavior, and environment, and allows students to become advocates for their own needs and supports. Research suggests that self-efficacy can boost student achievement, foster emotional health and well-being, and serve as a valid predictor of motivation and learning. Studies also have shown that students with high levels of self-efficacy participate more in class, work harder, persist longer, and have fewer adverse emotional reactions when encountering difficulties than students with lower self-efficacy.

See below for a visual representation of the ways in which self-efficacy levels can be influenced: 

self-efficacy graphic

Learn More about Self-Efficacy

Below, you can download our Self-Efficacy Toolkit — a 90-minute professional development session designed for educators seeking research-based strategies to help their students build this particular competency.

Why Download the Self-Efficacy Toolkit?

Our free toolkit provides educators with a variety of resources and strategies to support the development of students’ self-efficacy.

The toolkit includes:

  • More information on what self-efficacy is and why it matters;
  • An animated short video about self-efficacy that can be shared with students and parents;
  • A video in which students describe what self-efficacy looks like in their everyday lives;
  • A range of strategies teachers can integrate into their practice at all grade levels; and
  • A facilitator’s guide (including an abbreviated guide for a 45-minute session).
“We must resist thinking in siloed terms when it comes to social-emotional learning (SEL), academics, and equity. Rather, these elements of our work as educators and partners go hand in hand.”

HEAD & HEART,
TransformEd & ANet