SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON SELF – EFFICACY AMONG STAFF WITH LOW AND HIGH COMPUTER PROFICIENCY


A lot of theories have been propounded on self – efficacy due to researcher’s interest in the construct regarding its role in task performance, some of these theories were used to buttress this work regarding the role of computer proficiency and Gender on self – efficacy among Ebonyi state university staff. Some of these theories include:

            Social – Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997).
The social cognitive theory proposed by Bandura (1997), explains how behavioural patterns are acquired and maintained by various individuals with provision of intervention strategies. Bandura (1997) provided the concept of self – efficacy as he refuted the traditional learning theory of understanding learning. Hence, the restructured social cognitive theory by Bandura (1997) was used to emphasize the cognitive, emotional and behavioural aspects self – efficacy and human behaviour for proper understanding of behavioural change. Evaluating behavioural change using social cognitive theory is contingent upon the factors of environment, behaviour and people. Hence, social cognitive theory provides a frame work for designing, implementing and evaluating programmes within the physical and social environment of individuals. The social cognitive theory was used by the researcher to buttress the role of computer proficiency and gender on self – efficacy of Ebonyi State University staff. It is the contention of this paper therefore, that when considerations are given to the three factors of environment, people and behaviour, self – efficacy will be influenced. Also, research shows that behaviour is not simply the result of the environment and the person, just as the environment is not simply the result of the person and behaviour (Glanz, Rimer and Lewis, 2002). But that the environment provides models for behaviour and that observational learning occur when a person watches the actions of another person and the perceived environment (Bandura, 1997). In the like manner, Bandura (1997) opined that in social cognitive theory, a sense of personal efficacy is represented to heighten people’s belief in the planning and execution of specific courses of action to achieve a particular objective. Therefore, self-efficacy seems to be very critical in social cognitive theory because it is related to self-perception which can influence the determination of the outcome of varied events.
Self - concept theory of self-efficacy [combs and snugg, 1949]. The self concept theory of self-efficacy seeks to explain people’s interpretation and perception of their own existence through external cues.
The self concept theory of self-efficacy contends that many of the successes and failures that people experience in their life is contingent upon their perceptual views of themselves and others. This theory also explains how identity is constructed through interaction with others unlike social learning and social cognitive theory that lay emphasis on perceptual organizations.
Hence, people tend to behave in a manner that is consistent with their self view. Festinger (1962) corroborates the contention of the self concept theory of self- efficacy by saying that we react to people and tasks in such a way that seems most consistent with our self image and aspirations. Therefore, being computer proficient by university staff may have resulted from high self concept and high self-efficacy that is geared towards improving the self image and aspiration of workers.
So, favorable consideration of the applicability of the above theory may impact positively on the professional lives of Ebonyi state university staff.
Additionally, Fivush (2011) opined that with a huge store of autobiographical memories, people feel that they know themselves since they have a lot of experiences. But, cues within their environment tend to align with their self concept and self-efficacy to give an overriding perceptual process.
However, what people are predicted to do, think, act, feel, control and regulate themselves are predicted to be influenced by their self and identity. So, people do not simply respond to contextual cues, rather, the effect of those cues on whom they are in the moment moderate and mediate their responses (semesters, wheeler and Kay, 2010). Additionally, research reveals that apart from taking a separated and connected perspective of self, considerations can also be made by people about themselves from both distal and immersed perspectives.  They can do this by considering themselves as actors through inspirations from others and situations (Kross, 2009). On the other hand, people can see themselves through the eyes of others alone by considering the observations of other people about them (Cohen and Gunz, 2002). Basically, research show that self – concepts are made up of cognitive structures such as content and attitude or evaluative judgments that are used to focus attention on one’s goals, make sense of the world and protect basic worth of an individual (Oyeserman, 2009). It is therefore the contention of this paper that emphasizing and instituting the self concept theory of self- efficacy will help all staff of Ebonyi state university, Employers of labour and other employees to establish proper intervention for computer proficiency as a motivational factor for self-efficacy and job satisfaction.

Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour (Aysen & Fishbein, 1980). The theory of reasoned action and planned behaviour was propounded by Ajsen and Fishbain (1980).
            This theory contends that the primary determinant of an individual’s performance of a given behaviour is the person’s intention to perform the behaviour. Also, that the individual’s intention to perform is further determined by both the persons attitude towards the behaviour and other influences from the persons social environment. Therefore, it seems obvious that the concept of perceived control over the opportunities, resources and skills necessary to perform a task could possibly be viewed as the combined impact of planned behaviour theory and reasoned action theory. It is the contention of this paper that considerations should be given to members of staff who are ready to be proficient by expressing their intention to perform. If this is done, staff of Ebonyi state university will be motivated to build their capacity through computer proficiency and improve their performance.
EMPIRICAL REVIEW
Research shows that motivation for performance is contingent upon an individual’s level of self – efficacy because one’s aspiration and the outcomes expected from one’s effort is shaped by regulating one’s motivation through personal efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1997) Varied research report support the proposition that self – efficacy influence an individual’s choice of whether to engage in a task or not, the effort expended in performing the task and the persistence and accomplishing the task as well as establishing the expected standard of the performance (Bandura, 1977; Barling & Larkin, 1989; Bandura, 1986; Betz & Hackett, 1989). Hence, the construct called self – efficacy could help to explain why individuals may not accurately predict their behaviours from their capacity to accomplish a specific task. Research show that self – efficacy theory opined that the level of individuals confidence in their ability to organize and execute a given course of action to solve a problem or accomplish a task impact seriously on individuals self efficacy (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002) self efficacy seem to be a domain specific construct in organizational performance and academic exploits.
            Researchers, including Bandura, argue that it is also task specific and attempts to measure self-efficacy at the domain level often result in ambigious or uninterruptible results (Bandura, 1986). Many of the studies that show self-efficacy to account for lesser variance than other personal determinations often stray from Banduras prescription for a micro-analytic strategy. These studies, often asses self-efficacy globally with just a few scales by asking participants to report on their confidence or efficacy regarding a specific academic domain and not a specific task performance. It is expected that at this level of self reporting, self – efficacy may not reliably be separated from other personal determinants such as anxiety, self – concept, background, locality, personality – type and self – confidence. Thus, the question is whether one is actually measuring self – efficacy, or more generally measuring attitudes and other common mechanisms toward a given academic domain. However, considering the importance of measuring other common mechanisms regarding a given academic domain is vital in some areas of educational research, but more considerations should be given to measuring self – efficacy specifically so as to obtain sufficient evaluative information for performance on specific criterial tasks such as computer proficiency (Centinkalp & Turskoy, 2011). In a study on teacher efficacy in pre – college settings, Ross (1994) reviewed 88 teacher’s self - efficacy and observed that there is a link between teachers sense of efficacy and their behaviours or attitude towards teaching. Ross observed that teachers with higher levels of efficacy are more likely to:
Learn and use new approaches and strategies for teaching; use management techniques that enhances student antonomy; provide special assistance to low achieving students; build students self perception of their academic skills; set attainable goals and persist in the face of student failure.
Sherman and Fennema (1978) studied gender effect in mathematics learning and mathematics self – efficacy, they discovered that mathematics confidence and gender stereotyping are significant predictors of performance in mathematics self – efficacy, Sue and Trayhurn (2000) observed that college students gender influence self – efficacy in mathematics related actions, such as academic major and career decisions. Lineages of research suggest that gender maintains a significant influence on mathematics and computer efficacy through mathematics and computer proficiency (Schunk, 1987; Lopez & Sullivan, 1992).
            Several proficiency on self – efficacy and computer proficiency reveal that those high in computer proficiency adopt more cognitive and Meta cognitive strategies in their work and persist longer than those low in computer proficiency (Pajares, 1997; Lee & Bobko, 1994). Also, in a study focusing on computer proficiency and employee’s performance, Pajares (1997) saw computer proficiency as a veritable tool for employee performance and achievement.
Research further reported that workers self – efficacy beliefs are correlated with workers performances based on other motivational constructs. Such motivational constructs include goal setting, modeling, attributions, problem – solving, reward contingencies, self – regulation, test and domain specific anxiety, strategy training, social comparisms and other beliefs, expectancy constructs and different job performances (Pajares, 1997).
            Generally, people are more interested in performing activities in which they have high proficiency (Ren, 200). Research reveal that employees that are proficient in computer and make use of it regularly, positively accept technology and are high in self – efficacy. Hence, Ren (200) showed a positive correlation between high computer proficiency and high self – efficacy among workers.
SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW
Considering the role of computer proficiency and gender on self – efficacy of Ebonyi state university staff, both the theoretical and the empirical aspect of the study were reviewed. Some theories were also used to emphasize the significance of computer proficiency and gender on the self – efficacy of Ebonyi state university staff.
            The socio – cognitive theory explored the impact of behaviour patterns and intervention strategies on acquisition and maintenance of individual behavioural patterns. The socio – cognitive theory provides desirable frame work for designing, implementing and evaluating programmes within the individual’s social and physical environment. The self – concept theory of self – efficacy was used to explain how people use external cues to interpret and explain their own existence. The theory of reasoned action and planned behaviour saw an individual’s intention to perform an action as a major determinant of the person’s performance of a given behaviour. However, it seems obvious that perceived control over one’s opportunities resources and skills necessary for performance is contingent upon the combined impact of planned behaviour theory and the theory of reasoned action.
HYPOTHESES
1.         There would be no statistically significant difference on self – efficacy among staff with low and high computer proficiency.
2.         There would be no statistically significant difference on self – efficacy between old and young computer proficient and non computer proficient workers.
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