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Self-efficacy is an important variable that explains students? behavior of engaging in school activities and persevering in the face of academic challenges. High confidence in personal competencies and in the ability to successfully accomplish a particular task or a certain goal, acts as a stimulating factor of mental resources (cognitive, affective, motivational, volitional), contributing to students? success. In an educational context, the development of self-efficacy can be both a means of facilitating high achievement, but also an end in itself, a prospective goal of education. Perceived self-efficacy plays a major role in understanding how students perceive and experience academic courses. This research aims to identify the extent to which perceived self-efficacy with the course influences students' satisfaction with the class as a prerequisite for learning and academic performance. A structural model was developed and tested on two samples of students enrolled in the Psychoeducational Training Program, to prepare for the teaching career. The research results show that there is a significant relationship between perceived self-efficacy with the course and satisfaction with the class. Understanding this relationship, several educational implications can be formulated for the development of students' academic self-efficacy; by recognizing the main indicators of low self-efficacy, teachers can implement specific strategies and interventions to optimize students' self-confidence and performance.

Academic self-efficacy and engagement are closely related to successful results in exams. On the other hand, test anxiety may negatively affect students' success. The negative effects of test anxiety are stronger at exams in fundamental disciplines, like mechanics for civil engineering students. In this case, passing the exam may be difficult and require a three-step trial. This research explores the relationship between success at exams and the students' perceptions as regards their academic self-efficacy, learning engagement, and test anxiety. The approach is based on a comparison between students' perceptions and multiple regression analysis. The findings show that students who passed this exam reported higher self-efficacy and engagement, and lower test anxiety. The regression analysis revealed that keeping up with academic work, getting involved in class discussions, and nervousness during the exam were the main predictors of test results. Gender analysis showed that male students reported higher involvement in class discussions and female students reported more time spent on their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic resilience represents a critical variable in educational success, reflecting students’ ability to adapt and thrive in the face of academic challenges. Numerous studies have addressed the issue of academic resilience, as understanding the mechanisms underlying academic resilience as essential for the development of effective interventions to support students. Academic resilience is a multifactorial construct, influenced by personal, social and contextual factors, which needs a complex approach. Being an essential competence for the entire life, the academic environment provides the fertile ground for its development. The present research investigates the extent to which perceived self-efficacy and motivation - both intrinsic and extrinsic - impact students’ academic resilience. The study aims to explore how those psychological constructs interact to support adaptive responses in demanding academic environments. A structural equation model was developed and tested on a sample of university students. The findings reveal that academic self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation has a significant and direct positive effect on academic resilience. At the same time, even extrinsic motivation seems to influence negatively the academic resilience, it resulted that it has no direct significant influence on academic resilience. The results underscore the importance of fostering self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation in educational settings, offering critical psycho-pedagogical insights for enhancing students’ adaptive capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]