2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This systematic review of Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy is a Complete Theory Paper. Self-concept is defined as the broad view of one’s own abilities formed by self & social evaluations and interactions [1]. Self-concept is hierarchical [2], meaning its features and measures vary with one’s age and their academic attainment level. Academic Self Concept (ASC) is regarded as a crucial predictor of academic outcomes and is found to be related to academic achievement. This connection suggests that methods to improve and maintain high academic self-concept among students will help them achieve desirable student outcomes (e.g., confidence to persist and identity towards the curriculum). Self-concept and self-efficacy often appear commingled in literature even though several mainstream differences exist between the two constructs, with self-concept being domain specific whereas self-efficacy being task specific among others.
Instruments to accurately measure self-concept, particularly for freshman engineering students have not been identified, due to the nuances between the theories of self-concept and self-efficacy in literature. The current study involves a systematic review of research that explores prominent measures of ASC in engineering education, acknowledging that ASC measures are sometimes masked as general academic self-efficacy measures. This review will examine existing ASC instruments to identify sub-constructs that can be effectively used for the assessment of academic self-concept in first-year engineering students.