Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to examine the developmental differences of elementary
students’ self-regulation, self-efficacy, and sources of self-efficacy, and to assess whether
these variables differ as a function of gender across grade levels. Participants in this study
included 442 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students from U.S. International
Baccalaureate schools. Self-report measures were used to assess students’ self-regulation
(i.e., Perceived Responsibility for Learning Scale), self-efficacy, and sources of selfefficacy
in mathematics. The results of this exploratory study showed that mastery
experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasions, and physiological states accounted
for a significant amount of variance in students’ mathematics self-efficacy. Social
persuasions were the strongest predictor of mathematics self-efficacy. Boys reported
stronger perceived responsibility, mastery experiences, social persuasions, and
physiological states than did girls. Mastery experiences were the strongest indicator of mathematics self-efficacy for girls. Limitations and implications for future research and
practice are discussed.
