The roles of academic and bicultrual self- efficacy on academic achievement among hispanic students

The growth of the Hispanic population and their continued low achievement has implications for educators. The purpose of the current study is to examine two factors that can increase academic performance of Hispanic students: bicultural self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy. Bandura’s social cognitive theory of self-efficacy can be used to measure perceived bicultural competence and perceived academic competence. Bicultural competence has been found to benefit Hispanic students’ psychological adjustment and academic achievement. Past studies have found a positive correlation between academic self-efficacy and academic achievement of Hispanic students. However, the combined effect of bicultural self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy on academic achievement of Hispanic students has not been examined. Three hypotheses were proposed. First, academic self-efficacy would be a predictor of academic achievement among Hispanic students. Second, bicultural self-efficacy would be a predictor of academic achievement among Hispanic students. Third, bicultural self-efficacy would serve as a moderator of the relation between academic self-efficacy and academic achievement among Hispanic students. Results indicated academic self- efficacy and bicultural self-efficacy individually positively predicted academic performance. The interaction term did not have a statistically significant effect on academic achievement. The findings may support the development of programs to increase academic self-efficacy and biculturalism of Hispanic students.