Middle Years 

 “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.”

These words are from the book The Little Engine That Could.

These words capture a basic life attitude that all parents want their children to have: If I try, I will succeed. We all want our children to be able to cope with adversity, learn from failure, and work through difficult challenges. This requires self-efficacy — the ability to define a goal, persevere and see oneself as capable. Parents and teachers can help adolescents develop self-efficacy by reinforcing their strengths and helping them identity steps or paths to achieve their goals.

I often refer to self-efficacy in Wellbeing classes. I explain to students that this is the belief you can master your environment and effectively solve problems as they arise.

Students who display high self-efficacy:

• They stay committed to solving problems.
• They don’t give up.
• They are active when facing problems.

Building Blocks

1: Mastery experiences. When a child attributes a success to internal, stable, and global factors, he will experience a sense of mastery and this will reinforce his self-efficacy.

“I got an ‘A’ on my test because I know how to study and I concentrated in class.”

2: Observing others. Seeing a friend work hard to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle contributes to our belief that we, too, can successfully negotiate our environment.

“If Laura can do it, I can, too.” 

3: Advice from others. Children’s beliefs about their ability to master a situation are influenced by what they hear from their teachers, parents, coaches, and friends. The feedback must reflect the child’s real strengths and be specific.

“You are good at solving problems. You can think of a creative solution.”

“You did well because you kept at it and tried different ways to solve the problem.”

4: Mood. Positive emotions and mood build perceptions of efficacy and negative emotions and mood weaken them. People who experience positive emotion can see more solutions to problems they face, which strengthens their positivity and further enhances their ability to cope with challenge.

I hope that all Middle Years students feel that their self-efficacy skills are developing, and they hold the belief that if they persevere, they will succeed. As we reach the end of a busy term, I would like to wish everyone a relaxing mid-year holiday.

Julia Winter Cooke