ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the application of social cognitive theory (SCT)—and especially the role of self-efficacy—among students with disabilities. This chapter’s purpose is important because many students with disabilities hold a low sense of self-efficacy for learning and performing well in educational contexts, which can negatively affect their motivation and learning. Self-efficacy is grounded in Bandura’s SCT, which postulates that human functioning involves reciprocal interactions between personal, behavioral, and environmental variables. We briefly review some key principles of SCT and show how self-efficacy fits in this framework. We also distinguish different types of self-efficacy relevant for students with disabilities, including self-efficacy for performing, self-efficacy for learning, and self-efficacy for self-regulation. We then summarize some representative self-efficacy research among students with disabilities, with particular focus on neurodevelopmental disorders (specifically, students with learning disabilities, reading disabilities, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). This research addresses various aspects of self-efficacy including its prediction of learning, motivation, and self-regulation, as well as the influences on it. We then discuss the implications of the theory and research findings for educational practitioners. We conclude by outlining some future research directions in this area. Our recommendations include more research on the role of sociocultural variables and how they may affect self-efficacy, greater attention to how forms of technology may help develop at-risk learners’ self-efficacy, and exploring self-efficacy development in out-of-school contexts such as in homes and communities.
