Self-Efficacy and the Effects of Poverty on School Children

After reading chapter 10 in my educational psychology book and learning about Albert Bandura and his Social Cognitive Theory, I knew that I had to report on self-efficacy, but I also wanted to make sure to touch on the effects of poverty that has been discussed throughout the book as well. Poverty is an issue that more and more of our nation’s children are coming face to face with. The price that children of poverty must pay is unbelievably high. Each year, increasing numbers of children are entering schools with needs from circumstances, such as poverty, that schools are not prepared to meet. Being able to identify and understand children who are suffering from poor self-efficacy or who come from a low socioeconomic background is†¦show more content†¦Virtually all people can identify goals they want to accomplish, things they would like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people also realize that putting these plans into action is not qui te so simple. Bandura and others have found that an individual’s self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached. People with a strong sense of self-efficacy: View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered. Develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate. Form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities. Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments. People with a weak sense of self-efficacy: Avoid challenging tasks. Believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities. Focus on personal failings and negative outcomes. Quickly lose confidence in personal abilities (Bandura, 1994). One of the social issues facing children of poverty is emotional trauma. This sort of trauma has a great impact on a child’s self-efficacy. The emotional climate can often be very stressful and emotionally depriving. The lack of emotional nurturing can lead to feelings of alienation, inadequacy, depression and anxiety. 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