Learning strategies and academic self-efficacy in university students: A correlational study

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of learning strategies and self - efficacy beliefs among university students, to explore differences in relation to course and age, as well as to establish the relation between constructs. The instruments used were the Learning Strategies Scale for University Students (EEA-U) and the Self-efficacy Scale in Higher Education (AEFS). The participants were 109 students from Psychology, Production Engineering, Physical Education and Veterinary Medicine from a private university in the south of Minas Gerais, both sexes, with a mean age of 20 years and 6 months (SD = 3.76). The results showed a moderate correlation (ρ = 0.59, p < 0.001) between the scales of learning strategies and academic self-efficacy. According to the hypothesis, students who reported greater use of learning strategies are those that showed greater self-efficacy in the accomplishment of academic tasks pertinent to higher education.