Abstract

Academic achievement is influenced by cognitive, motivational, and instructional factors. This study examined the association between perceived mastery-oriented instructional practices and the perceived role of self-efficacy on grades using a cross-national survey design. Participants (N = 107) completed measures assessing perceptions of mastery-based teaching and the perceived role of self-efficacy on academic performance. Spearman’s correlation analysis indicated a small but statistically significant positive association between mastery support and the perceived role of self-efficacy on grades. Welch’s independent-samples t-test results demonstrated that participants who reported strong mastery support exhibited significantly higher perceived impact of self-efficacy on grades than those who reported limited or no mastery support, with a moderate effect size. Findings suggest that mastery-oriented instructional experiences are associated with participants’ perceptions of the importance of self-efficacy for academic performance. Implications for instructional design and future research are discussed. Specifically, the findings suggest that incorporation of mastery-oriented instructional strategies could enhance students’ perceptions of their academic abilities. Educators could benefit from emphasizing structured learning and conceptual understanding to support the development of self-efficacy, while future research should explore this relationship using more robust and longitudinal designs. These findings should be interpreted as exploratory given the study design.

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