Building a Better Nation: Capitalizing on Social Cognitive Theories for Collective Enhancement

Quality learning within a social group in achievement contexts is an important feat for enhancement and development. In a similar vein, in the contexts of secondary schooling, academic engagement is a major element for scholarly consideration (e.g., "I really enjoy coming to school, and taking part in these social activities"). In the area of educational psychology, there have been various cognitive (e.g., achievement goal orientations) and noncognitive (e.g., self-concept) theories that note and explain individuals' learning, academic engagement, motives, etc. The tenets of personal self-efficacy, originating from Albert Bandura's (1986, 1997) social cognitive theory, have been noted to account and predict individuals' cognition and behaviors in educational and non-educational settings. This theoretical chapter, in accordance with previous reviews of social cognition (Pajares, 1996, 2006; Phan, 2013b; Schunk, 1995), explores self-efficacy and how this theoretical construct explains quality learning and achievement outcomes. In particular, Bandura's (1997) theoretical tenets of personal self-efficacy may inform and assist in nation building, encompassing in this process the importance of unity, collaboration, and individuals working together towards collective goals. Collective self-efficacy, for example, may provide a premise for researchers and educators to consider in their applied educational practices and instructional policy making. The scope of our examination, in this analysis, entails a detailed articulation of self-efficacy and its situational placement within the contexts of sociocultural settings. We attempt to position personal self-efficacy within a wider system of change, involving its impact on the individual and his/her interactions with the community, at large.