Evolución del nivel de autoeficacia académica percibida en estudiantes universitarios mexicanos del medio rural

The objective of this study was to determine the degree of evolution of the academic self-efficacy perceived during the first three semesters of study in a sample of university students from rural areas in Mexico and, if it exists, to determine the measure of the effect (semester attended) on said self-efficacy. The research was developed under the quantitative methodology, non-experimental and longitudinal design, applying a questionnaire-type instrument with Likert scaling (.91 in Cronbach's alpha) to 55 students during the first three semesters of their studies. The results revealed that the academic self-efficacy level showed an increasing behavior as the students advanced semester, since in the first semester it was at a medium level while in the second and third a high level, being higher in the latter. The measure of the effect of the semester studied on self-efficacy is large (1,497 in Cohen's d statistic). It is concluded that students began their studies with certain beliefs about their abilities to carry out academic activities and that at the end of the third semester, they were higher.