Exploring the Dimensions of Self-Efficacy in Virtual World Learning: Environment, Task, and Content

This study explores the dimensionality of college students' self-efficacy related to their academic activities in the open-ended virtual world of Second Life (SL). To do this, relevant dimensions of self-efficacy were theoretically derived, and items to measure these dimensions were developed and then assessed using a survey methodology. Using data from 486 students enrolled in an introductory accounting course supplemented by the use of SL, the results of this study confirm the distinction of three dimensions of self-efficacy: Virtual World-Environment Self-Efficacy (VWE-SE), Learning Domain Self-Efficacy (LD-SE), and Virtual World-Learning Domain SelfEfficacy (VWLD-SE). Additionally, this study found that both VWE-SE and VWLD-SE were correlated with course learning. Implications for research and course design are discussed.