Developing Essay Writing Skills: An Evaluation of the Modelling Behaviour Method and the Influence of Student Self-Efficacy

Social cognitive learning theory has shown that observational learning positively influences essay writing development in high-school students, and that self-efficacy impacts on motivation. This study investigated the relative contribution of model observation, model evaluation, post-submission feed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of further and higher education 2018-07, Vol.42 (5), p.608-622
Main Authors: Callinan, Carol J, van der Zee, Emile, Wilson, Garry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Freshmen
Comparative Analysis
Essays
Feedback (Response)
Foreign Countries
Instructional Effectiveness
Learning
Observational Learning
Questionnaires
Regression (Statistics)
Self Efficacy
Skill Development
Statistical Analysis
Student writing
University students
Writing Instruction
Writing Skills
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Summary:Social cognitive learning theory has shown that observational learning positively influences essay writing development in high-school students, and that self-efficacy impacts on motivation. This study investigated the relative contribution of model observation, model evaluation, post-submission feedback, and factors relating to self-efficacy, as measured through academic confidence, in the essay writing development of 142 university students. The research compared students' essay marks between two semesters in order to explore whether observational learning had an impact on the development of the complex skills involved. The results revealed that all students benefit from traditional feedback and higher levels of self-efficacy when developing their essay writing performance. Underperforming students particularly benefited from actual essay writing. However, contrary to the predictions drawn from the literature, students in this study did not appear to benefit from observational learning when developing their skills. Limits to social learning theory are discussed.
ISSN:0309-877X
1469-9486
DOI:10.1080/0309877X.2017.1302564