Self-Efﬁcacy in the Context of Online Learning Environments A Review of the Literature and Directions for Research Charles B. Hodges S elf-efﬁcacy ‘‘refers to beliefs in one’s capabil- ities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments’’ (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). That is, self-efﬁcacy beliefs allow someone to answer the question, Can I do this? The this, of course, is situation–speciﬁc, and individuals may ﬁnd self-efﬁcacy beliefs varying from situation to situation. Peterson and Arnn (2005) argue that self-efﬁcacy is the foundation of human performance. They conclude that research in the area of self-efﬁcacy may provide information that will improve workplace performance. In the context of human learning, Zimmerman and Schunk (2003) agree, remarking that ‘‘the predictive power of self- efﬁcacy beliefs on students’ academic functioning has been extensively veriﬁed’’ (p. 446). Peterson and Arnn (2005) also describe the four major sources of self-efﬁcacy as developed by Bandura (1997) and posit that human performance technologists must consider those sources as they develop training interventions. The extensive body of self-efﬁcacy literature supports their call. Self-efﬁcacy beliefs are context-speciﬁc and must be considered carefully as situations change. Changes in the mode of education and training, for example from face-to-face to online, may affect learner self- efﬁcacy beliefs. The American Society for Training and Development projects both a decrease in live classroom delivery of instruction and an increase in delivery using various learning technologies (Sugrue & Rivera, 2005). Sugrue and Rivera also report ‘‘in 2004, self- paced online learning accounted for well over half of all technology based 7 PERFORMANCEIMPROVEMENTQUARTERLY,20(3–4)PP.7–25 & 2008 International Society for Performance Improvement Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/piq.20001 The purpose of this paper is to examine the construct of self-efﬁcacy in the context of online learning environments. Self-efﬁcacy is deﬁned as ‘‘beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments’’ (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). Traditionally, the four main sources of self-efﬁcacy development are enactive master experiences, vicarious experi- ences, verbal persuasion, and physio- logical and affective state (Bandura, 1997). In this paper, self-efﬁcacy is introduced in general. Research re- lated to academic self-efﬁcacy and self-efﬁcacy in online learning envir- onments is reviewed. The study of self-efﬁcacy in online learning envir- onments is new relative to the con- struct of self-efﬁcacy. Research on self- efﬁcacy and the use of computers in instructional situations has been included to broaden the literature base. The development of self-efﬁcacy beliefs in online environments is high- lighted as well as self-efﬁcacy assess- ment issues. Possible areas of self- efﬁcacy research in online environ- ments are suggested, including ped- agogical agents, persuasive feedback, and self-efﬁcacy assessment.