Developing Student-Writers’ Self-efficacy Beliefs

Authors

  • Joel M. Magogwe University of Botswana
  • Boitumelo Tiny Ramoroka
  • Ruth Mogana-Monyepi University of Botswana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18552/joaw.v5i2.132

Keywords:

self-efficacy beliefs, academic writing, social cognitive theory

Abstract

Based on Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura 1986) research in academic writing and self-efficacy has shown that there is a relationship between students’ performance and their belief in their writing abilities (Matoti and Shumba 2011, Shah et al. 2011, Prat-Sala and Redford 2012). Using questionnaires, interviews and an assessed written task, this study seeks to contribute to this research by exploring the relationship between writing proficiency and self-efficacy beliefs of undergraduate students taking an Advanced Writing Skills course. The aims of the study were to find out a) what the writing proficiency self-ratings of students doing the Advanced Writing Skills course are like b) their writing self-efficacy beliefs c) what they perceive to be problems related to their writing skills and d) whether there is any relationship between performance level of the students and their self-efficacy beliefs. An analysis of the results reveals that although students’ self-rating was high, their efficacy beliefs were moderate. The results of the present study also reveal that there was no relationship between students’ essay writing performance and their self-efficacy beliefs in the context of this study. This article argues that although self-efficacy beliefs need not be high for students to be motivated to perform better, boosting these beliefs can add to students’ tools for developing their writing competence.

Author Biographies

Joel M. Magogwe, University of Botswana

Dr. Joel M. Magogwe is an Applied Linguist teaching Communication and Academic Literacy Skills at the University of Botswana. His main research interests are in English as a second language, language acquisition, language and literacy skills and computer aided language learning or use of technology in learning and communication

Boitumelo Tiny Ramoroka

Boitumelo T. Ramoroka is a lecturer at the University of Botswana in the Department of Communication and Study Skills. Boitumelo holds both a Masters’ degree in English Language Teaching for Specific Purposes (MA in ESP-1998) and a PhD in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (2011) from the University of Warwick in the UK. Her research interests are in written academic discourse analysis and corpus-based textual analysis.

Her teaching interests are in the area of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Business Communication. She has a wealth of experience in teaching EAP courses at the University of Botswana and in other contexts. Her interests are also in academic writing and she offers academic writing courses.

Ruth Mogana-Monyepi, University of Botswana

Mogana-Monyepi R. (M ED in Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is a lecturer at the University of Botswana teaching Academic and Professional Communication. She has taught English and Communication and Study Skills in Colleges of Education in Botswana. Her research interests are in Teaching and Learning strategies, Academic writing and ReadingLiteracy.

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Published

2015-09-04

How to Cite

Magogwe, J. M., Ramoroka, B. T., & Mogana-Monyepi, R. (2015). Developing Student-Writers’ Self-efficacy Beliefs. Journal of Academic Writing, 5(2), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.18552/joaw.v5i2.132