Self Efficacy

Belief in oneself and one's skills is a powerful tool, and can be a deadly foe. Self efficacy is a measure of what one imagines one's ability level to be. How capable you are of performing a certain task or type of tasks sometimes isn't as important as how capable you think you are at performing. Building this self efficacy is a goal that many adventure educators strive for, because even if they fail at the same rate as others, those with high self efficacy are less likely to view failures as a setback.

Albert Bandura pioneered this concept, and it has caught on over time, because educators and leaders figured out that it has profound effects on students in the short and long term.

We can use this concept in our teaching by not hurling students at impossible tasks. Start your population out slowly with tasks they are capable of, and increase the level and nature of the challenge from there. Those who are faced with many initial failures will begin to believe failure is a trend, while those who see many successes will continue to expand their self efficacy and believe in their abilities.