Exploring the Sociocultural Dynamics of Self-Efficacy Development

• In Event: Sociocultural Origins and Processes of Student Motivation: Advancing Theory, Informing Research, and Transforming Practice

Abstract

Objectives. Self-efficacy, the belief individuals hold in their capabilities to organize and execute actions needed to achieve desired outcomes, is foundational to students’ motivation, persistence, and adaptive learning behaviors. This paper aims to reconceptualize self-efficacy development as a sociocultural process. It advances two propositions: (1) that self-efficacy beliefs are always culturally embedded and filtered through culturally shaped values, narratives, and expectations, and (2) that sociocultural contexts influence not only the availability of efficacy-relevant information but also the meaning and weight learners give to this information when evaluating their personal capabilities.

Theoretical Framework. A key construct within Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory, self-efficacy is understood to develop through individuals’ interpretation of four primary sources of information: enactive experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasions, and physiological and affective states. However, these sources have often been studied in ways that emphasize individual cognition while overlooking the sociocultural contexts in which students’ self-efficacy beliefs are formed. This paper builds on social cognitive theory to explore how self-efficacy development is informed by cultural norms, social structures, and contextual affordances.

Method. This is a conceptual and theoretical analysis. The approach involves critical synthesis of foundational work on self-efficacy and its sources, applying insights from cultural psychology, identity development, and sociocultural theories of learning (e.g., Markus & Kitayama, 2010; Oettingen, 1995). We identify gaps in existing literature and offer an integrative model that accounts for the influence of sociocultural context on the development and interpretation of efficacy-relevant experiences. We present illustrative examples that span developmental periods and educational settings, from early schooling through professional education.

Results or Substantiated Conclusions. This paper advances two central propositions. First, self-efficacy is always culturally embedded. We argue that self-efficacy judgments are not simply constructed from personal experience but are filtered through culturally shaped beliefs, values, expectations, and narratives about agency, responsibility, and success. Second, the sociocultural context moderates not only the availability of efficacy-relevant information but also the meaning and weight learners assign to it. These interpretative processes are influenced by proximal sociocultural features such as the relational dynamics of families, peers, and teachers, and by broader systems such as institutional policies, status hierarchies, cultural norms, and sociopolitical ideologies that affect what learners notice, how they weigh different sources of information, and how they draw conclusions about their capabilities.

Scholarly Significance. By mapping some of the specific mechanisms through which sociocultural forces operate, such as attentional patterns, identity-relevant comparisons, norms of effort, and emotional interpretation, this work contributes a more differentiated and culturally attuned model of self-efficacy development. In doing so, we invite motivation researchers to reconsider taken-for-granted assumptions about the universality of efficacy-relevant processes and to develop approaches that better account for cultural variability in both theoretical models and applied interventions. We offer implications for supporting more inclusive approaches to fostering self-efficacy among learners navigating diverse and often inequitable educational environments.

Authors

• Ellen L. Usher, Mayo Clinic

• Xiao-Yin Chen, University of Tennessee