Influence of Professor Support on College Students’ Self-Efficacy
Sarrah Wilkes, Auttum Juliet Montoya
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Shasta Ihorn
It is essential for college students to feel confident in their ability to complete academic tasks, especially those within their major field of study, and feeling supported by their professors can help foster this confidence (Nasseri et al., 2014). The current study examines the specific dimensions of professor support that influence college students’ motivation and self-efficacy. Participating undergraduate students at a large urban university completed two scales. They completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire - Revised (MSLQ-R; Pintrich et al., 1993), which measured their motivational orientations and learning strategies when navigating college courses, including intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientation, task value, control of learning beliefs, and self-efficacy for learning and performance. They also completed the Student-Professor Interaction Scale (SPIS; Cokley et al., 2004), which assesses the quality and nature of student-faculty relationships, focusing on instructor support, guidance, care, and accessibility. Multiple regression analysis will be used to explore how career guidance, validity, and caring orientations from professors influence students' general learning self-efficacy. Findings from this study will provide insight into the impact of structures such as office hours, accessible teaching environments, and opportunities for meaningful interactions, which enable professors to support their students effectively.