Effect of Self-efficacy and Emotional Engagement on Introductory Programming Students

Authors

  • Geetha Kanaparan Xiamen University Malaysia
  • Rowena Cullen Victoria University of Wellington
  • David Mason Victoria University of Wellington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v23i0.1825

Keywords:

self-efficacy, emotional engagement, introductory programming courses, programming performance

Abstract

High failure rates appear to be a norm in introductory programming courses. Many solutions have been proposed to improve the high failure rates. Surprisingly, these solutions have not lead to significant improvements in the performance of students in introductory programming courses. In this study, the relationship between self-efficacy, emotional engagement and the performance of students in introductory programming courses were examined. Enjoyment, interest, and gratification were identified as three factors contributing to emotional engagement in introductory programming courses from a review of existing literature and from focus groups. An online survey of 433 students in introductory programming courses showed that the students’ programming self-efficacy beliefs had a strong positive effect on enjoyment, while gratification and interest had a negative effect on programming performance. These findings have implications for course instructors who design and deliver introductory programming courses.

Author Biographies

Geetha Kanaparan, Xiamen University Malaysia

Dr Geetha Kanaparan

Senior Lecturer

Information and Communications Technology Department

Xiamen University Malaysia

Selangor

Malaysia

 

Rowena Cullen, Victoria University of Wellington

Emeritus Professor

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Published

2019-07-08

How to Cite

Kanaparan, G., Cullen, R., & Mason, D. (2019). Effect of Self-efficacy and Emotional Engagement on Introductory Programming Students. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 23. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v23i0.1825

Issue

Vol. 23 (2019)

Section

Selected Papers from the Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS)

License

AJIS publishes open-access articles distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Non-Commercial and Attribution License which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and AJIS are credited. All other rights including granting permissions beyond those in the above license remain the property of the author(s).