Effects of Students’ Writing Self-Efficacy on Interpreting Instructor Feedback

Indianapolis, IN

Self-efficacy of students in higher education is a concept well-documented throughout cross-disciplinary research. The content of feedback that instructors deliver to students varies in quantity and quality across disciplines. Research has shown that students’ interpretations of instructor feedback on written work vary due to internal factors and contribute to their ability to achieve writing proficiency. One such factor may be writing self-efficacy. The current study will analyze whether students’ writing self-efficacy will alter their interpretations of written instructor feedback. Participants will be undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 40. It is hypothesized that students scoring lower on the Self-Efficacy for Writing Scale (SEWS) will interpret written instructor feedback as more “harsh” and less “positive and encouraging” than those scoring higher.