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Predicting achievement: Confidence vs self-efficacy, anxiety, and self-concept in Confucian and European countries
Morony, Suzanne Kleitman, Sabina Lee, Yim Ping Stankov, Lazar
Morony, Suzanne
Kleitman, Sabina
Lee, Yim Ping
Stankov, Lazar
Abstract
This study investigates the structure and cross-cultural (in)variance of mathematical self-beliefs in relation to mathematics achievement in two world regions: Confucian Asia (Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and Europe (Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, Serbia and Latvia). This is done both pan-culturally and at a multigroup-level, employing multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling on a sample of 7167 students (modal age 15.1) from nine countries in Confucian Asia and Europe. As expected, Confucian Asian countries were lower on self-concept and higher on math anxiety than European countries. In contrast, confidence, a relatively new measure of self-belief, shows little difference between regions, yet is the single most important predictor of math accuracy both within each country and pan-culturally. It accounts for most of the variance explained by the other self-constructs combined, has excellent psychometric properties, and is simple to administer. Self-efficacy adds only a very small amount of incremental validity when confidence is in the equation. There are significant differences between the two world regions in terms of calibration – Europeans are more overconfident – due to lower overall mathematics scores of students from Serbia and Latvia.
Keywords
self-efficacy, self-concept, confidence, metacognitive beliefs, mathematics achievement
Date
2013
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Journal of Educational Research
Book
Volume
58
Issue
Page Range
79-96
Article Number
ACU Department
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Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled