Albert Bandura's Self-Efficacy Theory

The origins of self-efficacy research can be traced back to Albert Bandura’s (1997) article, “Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change.” Social cognitive theory and the idea of reciprocal determinism are at the root of Bandura’s self-efficacy theories. Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as “belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the course of action required to produce given attainments,” and he proposed that self-efficacy affects motivation, effort, choice of activities, and perseverance in the face of difficulty (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). Bandura’s ideas are supported by educational research. High self-efficacy cannot magically create ability that does not exist, but instead it allows people to use their …show more content…
The goal of a case-study method is to complete a “generalization” and not a “particularizing” analysis (Lipset et al., Trow, & Coleman, 1956, pp. 419-420) (as cited in Yin, 2104). At present, Yin (2014) agreed that case studies are generalizable to theoretical propositions and not to populations or universes. He pointed out that a good case-study design establishes the logic that links the data to the initial question(s) of the study. He also argued that a good theoretical proposition lays the groundwork for making analytical generalizations from the collected data. Furthermore, Yin posited that the theory of the study needs to be articulated along with what is to be learned to strengthen the research design of the case study. There are five components in the case-study research design. The components are as follows: (a) case study’s questions; (b) propositions, if any; (c) unit(s)s of analysis; (d) the logic linking the data to the propositions; and (e) the criteria for interpreting the findings. Additionally, there are specific purposes for conducting a case study: to describe, explore, or to explain a …show more content…
The questions help to capture the actual interest that is being addressed without pointing to what should be studied. The study’s purpose reflects the important theoretical issue and tells one where to look for relevant information. Therefore, the purpose statement moves the researcher in the right direction. Yin (2014) argues that a strong purpose statement must be developed prior to the collection of data. The case study may be a single case study or multiple case studies that consist of qualitative and quantitative information that aligns with the purpose statement. However, case study research can include, and even be limited to, quantitative evidence. According to Yin (2014), the most common sources of evidence in conducting a case study are: archival records, interviews, direct observations, documentation, participant observation, and physical