Self-efficacy and Parenting Practices

If it is possible to increase self-efficacy through one of these four ways, how can this self-efficacy be applied to parenting? It is important to understand that self-efficacy can be broken into the categories of General Self-Efficacy (GSE) and Situation Specific Self-Efficacy (SSE). Mencl, Tay, Schwoer, and Drasgow (2012) described general self-efficacy as an overall belief that one has the knowledge and capability to take on a wide variety of tasks and be successful at them. Situation specific self-efficacy involves a person having a specific level of self-efficacy that is particular to a certain task or area. A person who has a general sense of self-efficacy may be able to apply that self-efficacy to more idiosyncratic tasks. It can help the person make the necessary

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adaptations to the task requirements in order to persevere with the task should it become challenging. If a person succeeds at a specific task and develops a strong situation specific self- efficacy, aspects of this specific self-efficacy may transfer to other tasks (Mencl et al., 2012). It may be true that a person has a high situation specific self-efficacy for one task, but not for another. However, aspects of a strong SSE may help the person perform a different, unrelated task. Self- efficacy grows because of the successful performance of that task. Both the SSE and the GSE play important roles in expanding a person’s overall self-efficacy and strengthening it (Weiser & Riggio, 2010). Parents may demonstrate varying degrees of SSE and GSE and this variance may influence how educators develop parental involvement programs.

It may be better to help parents build a strong SSE first before helping them to develop a strong GSE geared toward helping their children with learning tasks. Parents may need to have confidence in their ability to complete one parenting task before they feel ready to take on additional ones. A strong parental SSE could give the parent the confidence to engage in specific parental engagement activities designed to address desired outcomes. Aspects of the successful development of one SSE may be able to transfer to additional tasks and help to develop a parent’s GSE. These tasks could include such things as collaborating with the community or engaging in learning support behaviors to help children aspire to complete difficult classes and to graduate from high school. The role that a general sense of self-efficacy may be able to play on parental involvement is that it may provide foundational skill levels from which the parents develop their confidence in their ability to help their children with learning tasks and may be more willing to become involved with school. The administrative team can then develop parent involvement programs designed to strengthen those skills.

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People with a strong sense of self-efficacy may be more likely to take on new and challenging tasks than people who have a weak sense of self-efficacy. Thus, parents with a strong sense of self-efficacy may be able to develop new parenting skills better than parents with a weaker sense of self-efficacy at the secondary level can (Bandura, 1989). These people are also more likely to put the required time and effort into a task to master it. They are also more likely to stick with a task if they face challenges and difficulties during their activity (Bandura, 1989; Coleman & Karraker, 1997). Their willingness to stick with a task implies that they would be more likely to stay with it and overcome challenges once started and that they would be likely to complete it. This can help when implementing a new parent outreach and training program to improve their parenting skills in order to more effectively engage with their children in their learning.

Though the theory of self-efficacy may help explain why some parents may be more willing to take on new challenges than others, other mediating factors may influence the development of that self-efficacy. Judge, Jackson, Shaw, Scott and Rich (2007) suggested that self-efficacy development is also affected by a series of variables that include one’s general mental ability, personality types, and experience. In their 2007 study on self-efficacy, Judge et al. found that one’s experience, conscientiousness, and general mental ability were better predictors of how one would perform on a task than one’s level of self-efficacy did. It may be that a combination of experience, general mental ability, and key personality traits shape one’s sense of self-efficacy. Because of this influence of personality traits and the difference between general self-efficacy and specific self-efficacy, it may be difficult to assume that the same methods used to increase one’s perceived self-efficacy will have the effect on all parties.

There may be an over reliance on self-efficacy as a predictor of how well a person will perform on a task. As noted by Vancouver, Thompson, Tischner and Putka (2002) a growth in

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one’s self-efficacy does not necessarily translate into improvement in a task that one is attempting to master if the self-efficacy results in a person spending less time learning and planning to perform the task. It may be that self-efficacy wanes when a task becomes more complex and requires more cognitive actions to master (Lane & Lane, 2001). It may also be that one’s own prior experience with a task leads one to have more success in attempting and mastering that task than if one came to it fresh (Judge et al., 2007). One’s self-efficacy in relation to the ability to master a task may also diminish if there is too much time between a person’s initial exposure to the task and subsequent exposures (Lane & Lane, 2001; Vancouver et al., 2002). These observations suggest that in order to build and sustain a person’s self-efficacy toward a task, it may be necessary to provide them with simple tasks to begin with and to reduce the time between the task performances. It may also be that the person needs sustained exposure and practice in mastering a task to develop self-efficacy firmly.

Researchers may ask if there are limits to the degree of self-efficacy a person may acquire. Lahart et al. (2009) noted that in some cases, self-efficacy can result in one having an over inflated sense of confidence. This can lead to people having a false impression of what they can and cannot do. In these cases, the person’s sense of self-efficacy is not commensurate with the person’s actual abilities. Yet, because the person possesses this strong sense of self-efficacy, the person does not accurately perceive his or her actual abilities. Cahill and Gallo (2006) noted that people might have a false sense of their actual abilities. They differentiate between a person who is willing to undertake a task as compared to a person who actually has the skill to do the task. Someone may have a strong self-efficacy to undertake a complex job that requires a specialized skill set the person does not actually possess. Though the person may have a great attitude and be willing to take on the job, the person would not have the requisite skills to take on the job successfully. This

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paradox suggests that the concept of self-efficacy is mostly theoretical when it comes to explaining the discrepancy between people wanting to perform a task and actually being able to do it.

In some instances, a person’s strong sense of self-efficacy can have detrimental effects on a task. Vancouver et al. (2002) showed that having a strong sense of self-efficacy could lead people to stick with a bad or failing action for a longer period rather than switch methods or strategies to adapt to the task difficulty. The person believes that he or she is correct, despite evidence to the contrary. Because of this overconfidence, the person continues to engage in behaviors that are not producing the desired results.

The degree and accuracy of self-efficacy a person develops may be contingent on the degree and accuracy of information the person uses to form that self-efficacy. Bandura and Locke (2003) argued that people develop a skewed sense of self-efficacy if the information people have when they are developing their self-efficacy is inaccurate. People develop a false sense of their own capabilities based on the false information they have to process. Because bad information has led to the development of this false sense of self-efficacy, it really does not reflect one’s true sense of self-efficacy. For parents’ beliefs of their abilities to be accurate, they have to be grounded in accurate information (Bandura & Locke, 2003). This information may affect not only how parents process information but also how they may respond to feedback on a task. If parents’ develop a false sense of their ability through their processing of inaccurate or misleading information, they will not really develop an accurate picture of their own abilities. This could possibly have negative consequences for the parent, as it may lead them to make decisions or take actions that they really do not have the competency or skill to master.

A person who has a strong sense of self-efficacy may become complacent in his or her attempt to master a task. This complacency has the effect of the person feeling that they already

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have the requisite knowledge needed to perform it. The person may decrease his or her effort to accomplish a task as a result. Because of this sense of confidence, the person may not adequately plan; set aside time or resources to accomplish the task. This complacency may also result in the person believing he or she has mastered the task when that is not the case. Vancouver et al. (2002) observed that when a person becomes complacent due to a high sense of perceived self-efficacy toward a task, the person actually spends less time trying to master the task and is less responsive to feedback on how to improve. The possible learning that could come from performing the task or adjusting one’s actions as a result diminishes because the person with the high self-efficacy does not believe he or she needs additional help. Complacency attributed to having a high a level of self-efficacy may not lead to a person learning incrementally, but could result in a degree of self-deception on the part of the person that reduces the person’s ability to grow and learn (Martocchio & Judge, 1997). As such, a person’s complacency could be detrimental when applied to a task that needs to be mastered.

Despite the critiques of self-efficacy theory, it would seem that self-efficacy is associated with positive outcomes of self-confidence, the ability to set and meet goals, and the ability to overcome challenges when working on a task (Bandura, 1977, 1997; Schunk, 1990; Zulkosky, 2009). A strong sense of self-efficacy helps individuals succeed in new situations and possibly overcome obstacles that may deter them from meeting goals. With students, a strong sense of self- efficacy may help them succeed in academics despite whatever other hurdles they may encounter (Coleman & Karraker, 1997; Seegan et al., 2012). Developing a child’s sense of self-efficacy may be a means to help the child develop confidence and resiliency to overcome challenges that the child may face while going through school. Though children may develop some self-efficacy

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through their own experiences, they may also benefit from parents who already have a strong sense of self-efficacy and can pass that on to their children.