The Role of Self-Efficacy to Persistence of Technology Students in the Philippines

The attainment of a baccalaureate degree largely determines income and occupational status. Persistence is defined as a constellation of factors leading to completion of the course. Self-efficacy is an important factor that mitigates persistence especially in a technology-related course that is deemed crucial in a global economy. The contribution of domain-specific self-efficacy in student persistence (technology self-efficacy, computer self-efficacy, career self-efficacy, and general self-efficacy) was examined using sample data from students of three institutions of higher education in Metro Manila and nearby province. This study reveals that general self-efficacy and computer self-efficacy are significant predictors of persistence while career self- efficacy and technology self-efficacy are not. Keywords - information technology education, self-efficacy, technology self-efficacy, persistence