Self-efficacy as a predictor of academic performance in science

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Science Pedagogy

Background:

• Nursing students frequently encounter challenges in science coursework.
• Predicting academic success in science is crucial for developing targeted support strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Self-Efficacy for Science (SEFS) instrument.
• To assess the SEFS's ability to predict academic performance in first-year undergraduate nursing science subjects.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of first-year Bachelor of Nursing students completed the SEFS questionnaire.
• Academic scores in two science subjects were collected as criterion measures.
• Principal component factor analysis was used to analyze the SEFS structure.

Main Results:

• The SEFS comprised six factors, explaining 70% of variance in science self-efficacy.
• The SEFS demonstrated good reliability with a Cronbach alpha of 0.9.
• SEFS predicted 24% of physical science and 18.5% of bioscience academic performance.

Conclusions:

• The SEFS is a reliable instrument for measuring science self-efficacy in nursing students.
• The SEFS shows potential for predicting academic performance in nursing science subjects.
• Further research should explore the SEFS's utility in diverse nursing programs.