Author ORCID Identifier
Semester
Summer
Date of Graduation
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Physics and Astronomy
Committee Chair
John Stewart
Committee Member
Gay Stewart
Committee Member
Jessica Deshler
Committee Member
Paul Cassak
Abstract
Cognitive and affective beliefs in physics classrooms are important indicators of student success beyond traditional measurements of academic performance. This body of work explores major beliefs and processes, including self-efficacy, self-regulation, and sense of belonging, as they relate to academic achievement among introductory undergraduate physics students. First, this dissertation explores the development of physics self-efficacy and physics sense of belonging, two highly correlated variables. This work identifies unique sources of physics self-efficacy and sense of belonging development from current and prior academic experiences, personality factors, and demographic variables. Then, relationships between early- semester self-efficacy and sense of belonging, mid-semester self-efficacy and sense of belonging, and influences from academic performance feedback are explored. Physics self-efficacy and sense of belonging are then observed to evolve over multiple introductory physics courses, identifying patterns over time, between demographic groups, and by academic achievement. The next part of this work applies the concept of self-regulated learning to introductory physics students. First, student learning strategies were tracked over a semester to explore how strategy use evolved over time and responded to academic feedback. Then, an instrument was designed and validated to measure self-regulated learning behaviors relevant to learning physics and used to identify behaviors that set high-achieving students apart from lower-achieving students. The last study in this body of work expands the principles of physics education research to mathematics education research, exploring differences in mathematics performance/competence, interest in mathematics, interest in mathematics graduate school, and perceived barriers to pursuing mathematics graduate education.
Recommended Citation
Maldonado, Danielle Christine, "I Think, Therefore I Can: Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation, and Sense of Belonging in Introductory Physics" (2026). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 13430.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/13430
Included in
Categorical Data Analysis Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Higher Education Commons, Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series Commons, Mathematics Commons, Multivariate Analysis Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Physics Commons, Quantitative Psychology Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons