Leveraging academic and vocational performance through self-efficacy

Abstract

The majority of research examining the impact of self-efficacy on performance across a variety of settings has provided evidence to validate the claim that agency beliefs facilitate human achievement. However, such inquiries have focused within a single domain of functioning. The present study explores the influence of agency beliefs on academic success and the counteraction of the lack of decisiveness in the case of career choice, also known as career indecision. The first part of the paper is conceptual and provides the reader with the theoretical background behind both constructs. The quantitative analysis supported the existence of a bi-directional relationship between the study variables. The last section of the paper is devoted to the qualitative investigation and discussion of the implications prompted by our examination and reveals several noteworthy conclusions: the inability of the participants to extend their agency beliefs from one domain of functioning to another domain without initial guidance and the lack of a clear vision of a future career path stemming from insufficient career counselling.