FOSTERING SELF-EFFICACY THROUGH ARTIFACT CREATION IN A FULLY ONLINE DISTANCE HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

This study examines students’ self-efficacy in relation to artifact creation within a Project-Based Learning (PjBL) approach in a fully online distance higher education context. In online learning environments, fostering learners’ confidence in their ability to successfully complete academic tasks are pivotal for sustaining engagement and persistence. A mixed-method sequential exploratory design was employed. The qualitative phase explored students’ experiences in completing project-based assignments that required the creation of learning artifacts. These findings informed the development of a quantitative pilot survey administered to 38 students, measuring motivation, perceptions of project-based learning, and self-efficacy using a Likert-scale instrument. Descriptive results indicate that students reported high levels of self-efficacy (M = 4.11, SD = 0.48), alongside strong motivation (M = 4.15, SD = 0.43) and highly positive perceptions of project-based tasks (M = 4.50, SD = 0.49). Correlation analysis revealed that self-efficacy was strongly associated with motivation (r = .738, p < .001) and moderately associated with perceptions of project-based learning (r = .539, p = .001). Regression analysis further showed that motivation significantly predicted self-efficacy (β = 0.900, p < .001), while perception of project-based tasks did not independently predict self-efficacy when controlling for motivation. These findings suggest that while artifact creation through PjBL is positively associated with students’ self-efficacy, this relationship is strongly mediated by students’ motivational engagement. The study contributes to understanding self-efficacy in fully online distance education and highlights the importance of designing project-based learning environments that simultaneously support meaningful task engagement and learner motivation.