Gender Perspective: Self-Efficacy and Academic Stress of Middle School Students in Science Education

Meli Fiandini, Yenika Rambu Lepir, Adi Rahmat, Yanti Hamdiyati, Nanang Winarno, Mubiar Agustin

Abstract


This research aims to examine the influence of gender on self-efficacy and academic stress in middle school students in science subjects. A quantitative approach using a 40-item questionnaire consisting of measures of self-efficacy and academic stress, each containing 20 items, was administered. This research involved 51 students (consisting of 24 Males and 27 Females) in the ninth grade from private secondary schools in Bandung, Indonesia. Data analysis uses descriptive and inferential statistical techniques using Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS software. The results showed significant gender differences in self-efficacy and academic stress. Male students show higher levels of self-efficacy than female students, while female students experience lower academic stress. These findings suggest potential interventions to increase self-efficacy and reduce academic stress in science courses, emphasizing gender-specific strategies.



Keywords


Academic stress, Science learning, Secondary school, Self-efficacy.

References


Amin, S., Utaya, S., Bachri, S., Sumarmi, S., & Susilo, S. (2020). Effect of problem-based learning on critical thinking skills and environmental attitude. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 8(2), 743-755. http://dx.doi.org/10.17478/jegys.650344

Areepattamannil, S., Khurma, O. A., Ali, N., Al Hakmani, R., & Kadbey, H. (2023). Examining the relationship between science motivational beliefs and science achievement in Emirati early adolescents through the lens of self-determination theory. Large-scale Assessments in Education, 11(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-023-00175-7

Azila-Gbettor, E. M., Atatsi, E. A., Danku, L. S., & Soglo, N. Y. (2015). Stress and academic achievement: Empirical evidence of business students in a Ghanaian polytechnic. International Journal of Research in Business and Management, 2(14), 78-98.

Budde, H., Pietrassyk-Kendziorra, S., Bohm, S., & Voelcker-Rehage, C. (2010). Hormonal responses to physical and cognitive stress in a school setting. Neuroscience letters, 474(3), 131-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2010.03.015

Costigan, R. D., & Brink, K. E. (2020). Developing listening and oral expression skills: Pillars of influential oral communication. Journal of Management Education, 44(2), 129-164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562919890895

de Laat, J., & Watters, J. J. (1995). Science teaching self-efficacy in a primary school: A case study. Research in Science Education, 25, 453-464. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02357387

Devi, V. M., & Ula, A. B. (2022). Sosialisasi self-efficacy dan motivasi belajar ipa peserta didik kelas VIII di SMPN 2 Gerung berdasarkan gender [Gender-based socialization of self-efficacy and science learning motivation among eighth-grade students at SMPN 2 Gerung]. Jurnal Pengabdian Magister Pendidikan IPA, 5(2), 154-160. https://doi.org/10.29303/jpmpi.v5i2.1595

Djamahar, R., Dewahrani, Y. R., & Octaviani, R. (2020). Relationship between self-esteem and negative emotional state with academic procrastination in final-year students. Indonesian Journal of Biology Education, 3(1), 6-12. https://doi.org/10.31002/ijobe.v3i1.2290

Fan, W., & Williams, C. M. (2010). The effects of parental involvement on students’ academic self-efficacy, engagement, and intrinsic motivation. Educational psychology, 30(1), 53-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410903353302

Forbes, C. T., Biggers, M., & Zangori, L. (2013). Investigating essential characteristics of scientific practices in elementary science learning environments: the practices of science observation protocol (P-SOP). School Science and Mathematics, 113(4), 180-190. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12014

Goel, A., & Bardhan, S. (2016). Effect of stress on self-efficacy and emotional intelligence among college students of humanities and sciences: A study on gender differences. International Journal of Applied Research, 2(12), 318-328.

Haleem, D. J., Inam, Q. U. A., Haider, S., Perveen, T., & Haleem, M. A. (2015). Serum leptin and cortisol, related to acutely perceived academic examination stress and performance in female university students. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 40, 305-312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-015-9301-1

Hendrayana, A. S. (2014). Motivasi belajar, kemandirian belajar dan prestasi belajar mahasiswa beasiswa bidikmisi di upbjj ut Bandung [Learning motivation, learning independence, and academic achievement of Bidikmisi Scholarship students at UPBJJ-UT Bandung]. Jurnal Pendidikan Terbuka dan Jarak Jauh, 15(2), 81-87. https://doi.org/10.33830/ptjj.v15i2.591.2014

Hsu, H. Y., Li, Y., Dugger, S., & Jones, J. (2021). Exploring the relationship between student-perceived faculty encouragement, self-efficacy, and intent to persist in engineering programs. European Journal of Engineering Education, 46(5), 718-734. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2021.1889469

Hubers, M. D., D. Endedijk, M., & Van Veen, K. (2022). Effective characteristics of professional development programs for science and technology education. Professional Development in Education, 48(5), 827-846. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2020.1752289

Jansen, M., Scherer, R., & Schroeders, U. (2015). Students' self-concept and self-efficacy in the sciences: Differential relations to antecedents and educational outcomes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 13-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.11.002

Jesionkowska, J., Wild, F., & Deval, Y. (2020). Active learning augmented reality for STEAM education—A case study. Education Sciences, 10(8), 198. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10080198

Juan, A., Hannan, S., & Namome, C. (2018). I believe I can do science: Self-efficacy and science achievement of grade 9 students in South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 114(7-8), 48-54. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2018/20170269

Kozikoglu, I. (2019). Investigating critical thinking in prospective teachers: Metacognitive skills, problem-solving skills, and academic self-efficacy. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 10(2), 111-130.

Kubiatko, M., & Vaculová, I. (2011). Project-based learning: Characteristics and the experiences with application in the science subjects. Energy Education Science and Technology Part B: Social and Educational Studies, 3(1), 65-74.

Lin, T. J., & Tsai, C. C. (2013). A multi-dimensional instrument for evaluating Taiwanese high school students ‘science learning self-efficacy about their approaches to learning science. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11, 1275-1301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-012-9376-6

Liu, F., Du, J., Zhou, D. Q., & Huang, B. (2021). Exploiting the potential of peer feedback: The combined use of face-to-face feedback and e-feedback in doctoral writing groups. Assessing Writing, 47, 100482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2020.100482

Mujahidah, N. E., & Astuti, B. (2019). Decreasing academic stress through problem-focused coping strategies for junior high school students. Psychology, Evaluation, and Technology in Educational Research, 2(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.33292/petier.v2i1.25

Mulyadi, S., Rahardjo, W., & Basuki, A. H. (2016). The role of parent-child relationship, self-esteem, and academic self-efficacy in academic stress. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 217, 603-608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.02.063

Phan, H. P. (2009). Relations between goals, self-efficacy, critical thinking, and deep processing strategies: a path analysis. Educational Psychology, 29(7), 777-799. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410903289423

Prabu, P. S. (2015). A study on academic stress among higher secondary students. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 4(10), 63-68.

Prasad, K., Mookerjee, R., Rani, R., & Srinivas, V. (2022). Student stress and its association with student performance and psychological well-being: An empirical study on higher academic education students in and around Hyderabad metro. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 7(5), 17. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2022.v7i5.753

Rafidah, K., Azizah, A., Norzaidi, M. D., Chong, S. C., Salwani, M. I., & Noraini, I. (2009). The impact of perceived stress and stress factors on academic performance of pre-diploma science students: A Malaysian study. International Journal of Scientific Research in Education, 2(1), 13-26.

Saepuloh, D., Sabur, A., Lestari, S., & Uâ, S. (2021). Improving students' critical thinking and self-efficacy by learning higher order thinking skills through problem-based learning models. Jurnal Pendidikan Indonesia, 10(3), 495-504. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpi-undiksha.v10i3.31029

Sasson, I., Yehuda, I., & Malkinson, N. (2018). Fostering the skills of critical thinking and question-posing in a project-based learning environment. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 29, 203-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.08.001

Setiakarnawijaya, Y., Salim, N. P., Ilham, M., Hasyim, A. H., Taufik, M. S., Hanief, Y. N., & Setiakarnawijaya, M. A. (2022). Academic stress, perception, and attitude towards online learning of sports science students. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 22(12), 3189-3194. https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2022.12405

Supriyatno, T., Susilawati, S., & Hassan, A. (2020). E-learning development in improving students' critical thinking ability. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 15(5), 1099-1106. https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v15i5.5154

Suryawati, E., & Osman, K. (2017). Contextual learning: Innovative approach towards the development of students’ scientific attitude and natural science performance. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(1), 61-76. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/79329

Tus, J. (2020). Academic stress, academic motivation, and their relationship with the academic performance of the senior high school students. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 8(11), 29-37. https://doi.org/10.19044/EJES.V4NO3A5

Van Rooij, E. C., Jansen, E. P., & van de Grift, W. J. (2017). Factors that contribute to secondary school students’ self-efficacy in being a successful university student. Research in Post-comPulsoRy Education, 22(4), 535-555. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2017.1381301

Wang, Y. L., & Tsai, C. C. (2016). Taiwanese students’ science learning self-efficacy and teacher and student science hardiness: A multilevel model approach. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 31, 537-555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-015-0285-2

Weekes, N., Lewis, R., Patel, F., Garrison-Jakel, J., Berger, D. E., & Lupien, S. J. (2006). Examination stress as an ecological inducer of cortisol and psychological responses to stress in undergraduate students. Stress, 9(4), 199-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890601029751

Yikealo, D., Yemane, B., & Karvinen, I. (2018). The level of academic and environmental stress among college students: A case in the college of education. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 6(11), 40. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2018.611004

Ying, Y. H., Siang, W. E. W., & Mohamad, M. (2021). The challenges of learning English skills and the integration of social media and video conferencing tools to help ESL learners cope with the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic: A literature review. Creative Education, 12(7), 1503-1516. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2021.127115

Zhang, X., Ardasheva, Y., & Austin, B. W. (2020). Self-efficacy and English public speaking performance: A mixed-method approach. English for Specific Purposes, 59, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2020.02.001




DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/ijotis.v5i2.96516

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.