E-LEARNING INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN FOR SELF-EFFICACY

ABSTRACT

The crucial role of self-efficacy in the various areas of human activity has been emphasized by numerous authors who studied the construct proposed by Bandura in 1977 (Bandura: 1977). Benefits related to performance and satisfaction have been reported in the academic and organizational contexts. Other benefits that were reported by several studies are related to an increase in resilience, persistence and effort expended in performing a given task. Nowadays, courses given through e-learning have exponentially increased. However, the student retention rate for those courses is quite low. An increase in e-learning students' self-efficacy could represent an effective answer for this problem, while at the same time bringing about improvement in student performance and satisfaction. Literature is poor in what concerns interventions for the promotion of self-efficacy specifically in the context of e-learning. After the revision of literature, we have established a set of indications, which we then tested through the design, conception and application of a small e-learning course. Analysing the results obtained through the application of scales and tests, we tested for the correlation between self-efficacy and performance suggested by literature. This association was supported by the results. The possibility of influencing students' self-efficacy through the manipulation of instructional design was also supported by the results.

KEYWORDS: Self-efficacy, e-leaming, learning, online, instructional design.