Perceived Self-Efficacy in Problem Solving and Scientific Communication in University Students. A Gender Study

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to compare the profiles of perceived self-efficacy in problem solving and scientific communication between men and women university students. A total sample of 2089 participants, 902 women and 1187 men, aged 17 - 20 years participated in this study. The sample was constituted by all the freshmen university students from each degree offered by the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (Mexico). A quantitative approach with a descriptive and transversal survey design was used. All the participants completed the Self-Efficacy Problem Solving and Communication Scale . The results of the one-way multivariate analysis of variance, followed by the one-way univariate analyses of variance, showed that the men reported statistically significant better perceived self-efficacy in problem solving than the women ( p < .05), but they had lower scores in the possibility for improving self-efficacy perceived than the women ( p < .05). Regarding the scientific communication, the females reported statistically significant greater desired and reachable self-efficacy than the men ( p < .05). However, for all the other variables statistically significant differences were not found ( p > .05). Because of the differences between men and women in their perception of self-efficacy found, these findings suggest that in order to design any intervention for improving the perceived self-efficacy of the students, the variable gender should be taken into account.