"I Have Never Done That Before, So I will Probably Succeed": Higher Education Students' Self-Efficacy After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sigrid Myklebø^1*Ragnhild Holmen Bjørnsen²Maria I. T. Olsson³Thale Charlotte Tveita⁴Victoria Rustad Bjerke⁴

• ¹Department of Social Work and Guidance, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Oppland, Norway
• ²Section for Master’s in Social Work, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Oppland, Norway
• ³Department of Psychology, Innlandet Business School, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway
• ⁴Department of Organization, Leadership and Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Oppland, Norway

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of traditional exams for Norwegian upper secondary schools, resulting in the "COVID-19 cohort" graduating with little or no exam experience. This study explores how this impacted their self-efficacy upon entering higher education. Guided by Bandura's social cognitive theory, it identifies mastery experiences, modeling behaviors, verbal persuasion, and physiological states as key predictors. A survey conducted in autumn 2022 with first-to third-year students (n = 248) at a Norwegian university revealed that students emphasized "prior experiences" and "teacher feedback" as vital for self-efficacy, though many reported receiving limited feedback. Interestingly, despite lacking exam experience-a central predictor of self-efficacy-students largely felt unaffected, suggesting the pandemic's impact may not necessitate significant curriculum adjustments in higher education. However, some students believed easier coursework would enhance self-efficacy, a view inconsistent with self-efficacy theory, which underscores the value of challenging, resilience-building experiences.