Date of Award:

8-2025

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Gregory Callan

Committee

Gregory Callan

Committee

Kaitlin Bundock

Committee

Tyler Lefevor

Committee

Mario Suarez

Committee

Tyler Renshaw

Abstract

Many factors influence how well someone learns and achieve in school and daily living, with motivation being especially important. One key part of motivation is something called self-efficacy, which refers to how much someone believes they can successfully do a specific task (Bandura, 1986; 1997). Research has shown that self-efficacy plays a major role in how well people do, and the quality of their efforts (Pintrich & Schrauben, 1992; Weinstein & Mayer, 1986; Zimmermann, 2000). Additionally, mathematics skills are tied to better outcomes in school, careers, and in daily life. Mathematics also has also had a complex history when it comes to gender differences. While there's a lot of research about math self-efficacy, there is limited research that includes gender-diverse individuals. This study looked at both gender-diverse and cisgender students' mathematics self-efficacy, such as past experiences, encouragement from others, learning from individuals similar to one's self, and physical or emotional reactions. We also looked at how someone's sex assigned at birth may play a role. This study offers a baseline for understanding how gender-diverse students view their math abilities. Results, implications, and future directions are also discussed.

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