Self-Efficacy, Academic Buoyancy and Attitude towards Research among University of Ibadan Graduating Education Students

Abstract

The study focused on the relationship among self-efficacy, academic buoyancy and attitude
towards research among University of Ibadan graduating education students. The study
employed a descriptive research design of correlational type. A sample of ninety seven male
and female final year students was selected using the purposive sampling technique. Data
were collected with the use of a questionnaire containing the General Self-efficacy scale by
Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995), the Academic buoyancy scale by Martin and Marsh (2008)
and the Attitude Towards Research Scale by Papanastasiou (2005). The three scales yield
internal consistency Cronbach alpha coefficients of 0.78, 0.84 and 0.73 respectively. The
findings reveal that attitude towards research among graduating university students is positively
related to their levels of self-efficacy (r = 0.154, p<.05) and academic buoyancy(r = 0.084,
p<.05). Also, there is no significant difference in the attitude towards research of male and
female graduating university students (0.407>0.05). It is recommended that self-efficacy
and academic buoyancy among university students should be fostered through therapeutic
interventions so that their attitude towards research can be improved on.