Abstract
This quantitative investigation examined the influence of low and high self-efficacy on candidate teacher academic performance in a foreign language teaching methodology course through testing the speculation that high self-efficacy levels would improve pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK). Positivism guided the research design at the levels of ontology (a single conceptualization of self-efficacy) and epistemology (detachment from rather than interactions with the subjects). The positivist paradigm also guided this study at the methodology level through using a nomothetic research strategy (causal comparative), data collection methods (self-efficacy questionnaire and PCK achievement test), data analysis techniques (independent-groups t-test and its non-parametric counterpart Mann-Whitney U test). Data analysis indicated no significant differences between low and high self-efficacious students in their PCK. The study raised questions about examining self-efficacy through self-reporting measures and cast serious doubts on the positive influence of high self-efficacy on academic achievement.
Acknowledgement
The author extends his appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this work through the research group grant number RGP-VPP-113.