TITLE:
Perceived Self-Efficacy in Problem Solving and Scientific Communication in University Students. A Gender Study
AUTHORS:
Francisco Javier Flores, Daniel Mayorga-Vega, José René Blanco, Humberto Blanco
KEYWORDS:
Student’s Beliefs, Gender Differences, Higher Education, Academic Performance, Student Characteristics
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.5,
April
21,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The purpose
of the present study was to compare the profiles of perceived self-efficacy in
problem solving and scientific communication between men and women university students.
A total sample of 2089 participants, 902 women and 1187 men, aged 17 - 20 years
participated in this study. The sample was constituted by all the freshmen university
students from each degree offered by the Autonomous University of Chihuahua
(Mexico). A quantitative approach with a descriptive and transversal survey design
was used. All the participants completed the Self-Efficacy Problem Solving and Communication Scale. The results
of the one-way multivariate analysis of variance, followed by the one-way univariate
analyses of variance, showed that the men reported statistically significant better
perceived self-efficacy in problem solving than the women (p p p p > .05). Because of the differences between men and women in
their perception of self-efficacy found, these findings suggest that in order to
design any intervention for improving the perceived self-efficacy of the students,
the variable gender should be taken into account.