Confidence and Competence in Writing: The Role of Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectancy, and Apprehension

A study investigated the writing self-efficacy, writing outcome expectations, writing apprehension, personal self-efficacy, and writing performance of 30 undergraduate students throughout one semester. Results indicated support for social cognitive theory and prior findings that report a relationship between self-efficacy and performance. A regression model accounted for 68% of the variance in writing performance. Writing skills self-efficacy and the pre-performance measure were the only significant predictors. Writing apprehension was negatively correlated with writing self-efficacy but was not predictive of writing performance. Personal self-efficacy was correlated with writing self-efficacy, outcome expectations, apprehension, and performance but was not predictive of writing performance in the regression model. Findings which support a significant relationship between self-efficacy and related performance suggest that academic performance in an area such as writing can be informed by exploring the confidence individuals bring to this performance. (Three tables of data are included; 55 references are attached.) (Author/RS)