World Applied Sciences Journal 35 (8): 1568-1573, 2017
ISSN 1818-4952
© IDOSI Publications, 2017
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.wasj.2017.1568.1573
Corresponding Author: Dr. K.H. Loh, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Taylor’s University, Malaysia.
1568
The Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and
Learning Performance in Problem-Based Learning Environment
K.H. Loh
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Taylor’s University, Malaysia
Abstract: This research aims to investigate the relationship between Academic Self-Efficacy (ASE) of university
students in PBL Environment and their Learning performance. Learning performance comprises of learning
satisfaction, learning attitude and learning score. The data was collected from 78 students of both genders, with
average age of 18 years old and from various countries, selected from the second year of their undergraduate
study participated in this research. The learning performance of participated students was captured at the end
of PBL activities. A questionnaire adapted from Klobas was used to measure the academic self-efficacy ( =.71).
The data was analyzed using Bivariate Pearson’s correlation coefficients in SPSS to determine the degree of
correlation or association between Academic Self-efficacy and learning performance. The analysis of the data
indicated that a significant relationship exists between Academic self-efficacy and Learning Performance (r=0.32,
at 0.01 level)
Key words: Academic self-efficacy Learning performance Problem-based learning Outcome-based
education
INTRODUCTION the key to PBL in higher education as it transforms
A paradigm shift from traditional lecture system learners.
to outcome-based education (OBE) have been occurred The academic achievement of the students in PBL
in the past decades, whereby student centered approach environment is measured through the learning
such as problem-based learning (PBL) is being adopted to performance at the end of their PBL activities. It is
measure the learning outcome and students’ performance. expressed as a function of the sum of learning
In the OBE system, students' learning will be measured in satisfaction, learning attitude (subjective measure) and
terms of what they are capable of doing at the end of learning score (objective measure) throughout the
learning, not what has been taught. Thus, problem learning process in the PBL environment.
based learning (PBL) is being increasingly adopted in Academic self-efficacy refers to students’ beliefs in
higher education as one of the teaching and learning their capabilities to learn, to accomplish a task, or to
strategy in OBE. succeed in an activity. It is the “self-evaluation of one’s
PBL environment is defined as a constructivist ability and/or chances for success in the academic
learning environment designed in such a way as to environment” [2]. It is worthwhile to investigate the
stimulate a situation for the students to gain or acquire relationship between the learning performance and
content knowledge of the subject area through the academic self-efficacy in the PBL environment.
philosophy of “learning how to learn the material” for its Academic self-efficacy is the “self-evaluation of
students [1]. In this environment, learning is triggered one’s ability and chances for success in the academic
by a carefully selected and well-designed problem environment” [2]. In his study of academic self-efficacy of
that demand from the learner in acquisition of critical college students, [2] found that academic self-efficacy had
knowledge, problem-solving proficiency, self-directed the highest correlation (r =.496) as a predictor of GPA,
learning strategies and team participation skills. It has which is a common measure for academic success. Parajes
become an important notion that learning how to learn is [3] found academic self-efficacy to be a strong predictor
university students to become independent and lifelong