Self-efficacy has long been viewed as an important determinant of academic performance. A counter-position is that self-efficacy is merely a reflection of past performance. Research in the area is limited by unidirectional designs which cannot address reciprocity or the comparative strength of directional effects. This systematic review and meta-analysis considered both directions of the relationship simultaneously, pooling data from longitudinal studies measuring both academic self-efficacy and academic performance over two waves. Pooled correlations (k = 11, N = 2688) were subjected to cross-lagged path analysis that provided support for a reciprocal effects model. Performance had a net positive effect on subsequent self-efficacy (β = 0.205, p < 0.001), significantly larger than the effect of self-efficacy on performance (β = 0.071, p < 0.001). Moderator analyses indicated that reciprocity holds for adults, but not for children (in whom performance uniquely impacts subsequent self-efficacy beliefs, but not the reverse). Cross-lagged effects were stronger in studies which used methodologies consistent with recommendations of self-efficacy theorists.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	self-efficacy, academic performance, reciprocal effects, cross-lagged panel analysis, meta-analysis
Research Division:	Psychology
Research Group:	Applied and developmental psychology
Research Field:	Educational psychology
Objective Division:	Education and Training
Objective Group:	Learner and learning
Objective Field:	Learner and learning not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Talsma, K (Dr Kate Talsma)
UTAS Author:	Schuz, B (Dr Benjamin Schuez)
UTAS Author:	Norris, K (Professor Kimberley Norris)
ID Code:	123155
Year Published:	2018
Web of Science® Times Cited:	129
Deposited By:	Psychology
Deposited On:	2017-12-19
Last Modified:	2019-04-15
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