Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Faculty of Education, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Faculty of Education, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Faculty of Education, Surabaya, Indonesia.
This study investigates the influence of self-efficacy on students’ problem-solving abilities in vocational high schools. Self-efficacy, as a fundamental psychological construct, plays a crucial role in shaping learners’ confidence, persistence, and capacity to overcome both academic and practical challenges. A quantitative research design was adopted, employing a one-group pretest–posttest approach to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and problem-solving performance. The study involved 65 vocational high school students as research participants. Data were collected using a validated Self-Efficacy Questionnaire and a Problem-Solving Performance Test. The instruments were developed through expert validation, pilot testing, and reliability analysis to ensure methodological rigour. Data analysis consisted of descriptive and inferential statistical procedures, including normality tests, linearity tests, and simple linear regression analysis. The findings revealed that self-efficacy exerts a statistically significant positive effect on students’ problem-solving abilities, with a significance value of 0.008, which is lower than the 0.05 threshold. The coefficient of determination (R² = 0.105) indicates that self-efficacy contributes 10.5% to students’ problem-solving performance, while the remaining 89.5% is attributed to other variables not examined in this study. These results underscore the importance of fostering students’ self-efficacy through mastery experiences, constructive feedback, and collaborative learning activities. Strengthening self-efficacy is essential for developing higher-order thinking and problem-solving competencies that are critical for success in vocational education and future professional contexts. The study recommends that educational institutions integrate self-efficacy-oriented strategies into instructional design to enhance students’ adaptability, autonomy, and lifelong learning capacities within the framework of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

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