Research Self-Efficacy of Cambodian Undergraduate Students at Province-Based Universities
https://doi.org/10.17583/rise.2020.4267
Downloads
Abstract
Self-efficacy is crucial for producing challenging research results, which in turn may lead to innovations and development that can accelerate a country's economy. Undergraduate research self-efficacy in Cambodia has been of particular interest because graduates form the future pipeline of research professionals, which is important for Cambodia since its economy is still at a developing stage. While several studies have been conducted on undergraduate research self-efficacy in Cambodia, most of the participants were from capital city-based universities. The research self-efficacy of province-based university students, whose numbers have increased in recent years, remains to be investigated. In this study, we address this gap by adapting the Research Self-Efficacy Survey by Phillips and Russell (1994) and administered it to 1,009 undergraduate students from different faculties at three public province-based universities in Cambodia in order to assess their research self-efficacy. Using independent t‑tests and ANOVA, the mean research self‑efficacy score was 2.13 (± .66) on a 5 point-scale and varies significantly with small effect size based upon gender, academic year, and working experience. There is a need to focus on interventions aimed at improving the research self-efficacy of the undergraduate students, which in turn will increase their ability to do research. These include measures such as curriculum reform, improving the quality of teaching, teacher training, creating new educational materials, and upgrading research facilities. These will allow more research activities that can give the students opportunities to do research and eventually increase their research self-efficacy which is likely to benefit Cambodian society in the provinces. Although the issues presented here may appear to be isolated to Cambodia, other developing nations should also consider these issues as they develop higher educational institutions in their provinces away from their capital city.
Downloads
References
Bailey, J. G. (1999). Academics’ motivation and self-efficacy for teaching and research, 18(3), 343–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436990180305
Google Scholar CrossrefBakken, L. L., Angela, B.-W., Dawn, M. G., Earlise, C. W., Angela, S., Andrea, K., Robert, E. T. (2010). Effects of an educational intervention on female biomedical scientists’ research self‑efficacy. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 15, 167–183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-009-9190-2
Google Scholar CrossrefBandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism human -agency. American Psychologist, 122–147. https://doi.org/doi:10.1037/0003-066X.37.2.122
Google Scholar CrossrefBoswell, S. S. (2013). Undergraduates’ perceived knowledge, self-efficacy, and interest in social science research. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 13(2), 48–57. Retrieved from http://www.uncw.edu/jet/articles/vol13_2/boswell.pdf
Google Scholar CrossrefChen, C. Y., Sok, P., & Sok, K. (2007). Benchmarking potential factors leading to education quality: A study of Cambodian higher education. Quality Assurance in Education, 15(2), 128–148. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880710748901
Google Scholar CrossrefEam, P. (2015a). Factors differentiating research involvement among faculty members: A perspective from Cambodia. Excellence in Higher Education, 6(1&2), 1–11.
Google Scholar CrossrefEam, P. (2015b). Faculty involvement in research activities at Cambodian public higher education institutions: Trends, patterns and key characteristics. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, 17(2), 97–114.
Google Scholar CrossrefEam, P. (2015c). Investigating relationship among research elf-efficacy, research outcome expectation, and research interest of Cambodian faculty: Testing social-cognitive theory. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 4(3), 199–224. https://doi.org/10.17583/rise.2015.1752
Google Scholar CrossrefEam, P. (2017). A Study on the relationship between research ability and mindset of Cambodian faculty members and their research outputs: A perspective from fifteen higher education institutions (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/files/public/4/43691/20170707140055932770/k7318_3.pdf
Google Scholar CrossrefEam, P., & Seng, C. (2017). A path analysis of Cambodian faculty’s research intention : Focusing on direct and mediating effects at individual level. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 6(3), 271–295.
Google Scholar CrossrefJICA. (2001). Dispatch of technical cooperation experts. Retrieved from https://www.jica.go.jp/english/publications/reports/annual/2001/pdf/200119.pdf
Google Scholar CrossrefLeedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2001). Practical research: Planning and design (7th ed.). Merrill Prentice Hall and SAGE Publications, Upper Saddle River, NJ and Thousand Oaks, CA.
Google Scholar CrossrefMapolisa, T., & Mubika, A. K. (2013). Total quality management: The pathway to quality research supervision of the postgraduate diploma in education programme at the Zimbabwe open university, 3(2), 308–320.
Google Scholar CrossrefMinistry of Education, Youth and Sport [MoEYS]. (2018). The STEM broachure. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: MoEYS Publication.
Google Scholar CrossrefMohamed, F., & Nordin, R. (2013). Research efficacy among engineering and science undergraduates. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 102, 164–168.
Google Scholar CrossrefOECD. (2013). Innovation in Southeast Asia. OECD reviews of innovation policy, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264128712-en
Google Scholar CrossrefOguan, J. F. E., Bernal, M. M., & Pinca, C. M. D. (2014). Attitude and anxiety towards research, its influence on the students’ achievement in the course. Asian Journal of Management Sciences & Education, 3(4), 165–172.
Google Scholar CrossrefPapanastasiou, E. C. (2005). Factor structure of the “attitudes toward research” scale. Statistics Education Research Journal, 4(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/t64085-000
Google Scholar CrossrefPhillips, J. C., & Russell, R. K. (1994). Research self-efficacy, the research training environment, and research productivity among graduate student in counseling psychology. The Counseling Phsychologist, 22(4), 628–641.
Google Scholar CrossrefPrieto, L. L. (2009). Exploring the power of self-efficacy at work: Some empirical studies from the social cognitive perspective. Perspective, 1–194.
Google Scholar CrossrefReisel, J. R., Cancado, L., Walker, C. M., & Mitrayani, D. (2015). Defining a successful undergraduate research experience in engineering. In 122nd ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. June 14-17,Seattle, WA, Paper ID#11108.
Google Scholar CrossrefSachitra, V., & Bandara, U. (2017). Measuring the academic self-efficacy of undergraduates: The role of gender and academic year experience. International Journal of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences, 11(11), 2363–2368.
Google Scholar CrossrefSam, R., Zain, A. N. M., & Jamil, H. (2012). Cambodia’s higher education development in historical perspectives (1863-2012). International Journal of Learning and Development, 2(2), 224–241. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijld.v2i2.1670
Google Scholar CrossrefSaral, D. G., & Reyhanlioğlu, D. (2015). An analysis of educational faculty students’ research self-efficacy in terms of a number of variables. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 1138–1145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.729
Google Scholar CrossrefShaffer, C. A. (2006). Experience teaching a graduate research methods course. The SIGGCSE Bullentin, 38(2).
Google Scholar CrossrefSizemore, O. J., & Lewandowski, G. W. (2009). Learning might not equal liking: Research methods course changes knowledge but not attitudes. Teaching of Psychology, 36, 90–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/00986280902739727
Google Scholar CrossrefTan, E. B. (2007). Research experiences of undergraduate students at a comprehensive university, 19(3), 205–215.
Google Scholar CrossrefTiyuri, A., Saberi, B., Miri, M., Shahrestanaki, E., Bayat, B. B., & Salehiniya, H. (2018). Research self‑efficacy and its relationship with academic performance in postgraduate students of Tehran university of medical sciences in 2016. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 7, 1–6.
Google Scholar CrossrefUniversity A. (2001). Curriculum for undergraduate level. University A, Cambodia.
Google Scholar CrossrefUniversity B. (2007). Curriculum for undergraduate level. University B, Cambodia.
Google Scholar CrossrefUniversity C. (2014). Curriculum for undergraduate level. University C, Cambodia.
Google Scholar CrossrefVersland, T. M. (2016). Exploring self-efficacy in education leadership programs. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 11(3), 298–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775115618503
Google Scholar CrossrefWalliman, N. (2011). Research methods: The basics. New York: Rout ledge.
Google Scholar CrossrefWenzel, T. J. (1997). What is undergraduate research. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 17, 163.
Google Scholar CrossrefWilliams, D., & Coles, L. (2003). The use of research by teachers : Information literacy , access and attitudes (Research Report 14). Scotland.
Google Scholar CrossrefDownloads
Published
Almetric
Dimensions
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All articles are published under Creative Commons copyright (CC BY). Authors hold the copyright and retain publishing rights without restrictions, but authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy articles as the original source is cited.