Self-efficacy and Perceived Organizational Support by Workers in a Youth Development Setting

The efficacy levels of workers in the youth development field can significantly impact the work done with youth. These levels may be impacted by workers’ perceptions of administrative occupational support at their organization. To date, limited research exists that examines youth work efficacy levels, and no research studies exist analyzing the relationship between youth workers’ efficacy levels and perceived organizational support. The current study examined the relationship between self-efficacy and the perceived organizational support felt by workers in a youth development setting. A total of 198 surveys were completed; results indicated that youth work efficacy was significantly related to perceived organizational support. This study is important to enhancing the body of knowledge regarding self-efficacy levels of workers in a youth development setting, as well as understanding motivation and self-confidence of youth development professionals. JOURNAL OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Bridging Research and Practice


Introduction
Self-efficacy is an individual's belief in their capabilities to perform certain tasks (Bandura, 1977).Self-efficacy has been the focus of research for over 35 years, with empirical studies related to the coaching, education, leisure services, and management fields guiding organizational and individual behaviors (Denham, & Michael, 1981;Feltz, Chase, Moritz, & Sullivan, 1999;Gibson, & Dembo, 1984;Malete, & Feltz, 2000).Only recently, has the analysis of self-efficacy levels of workers in the youth development field become an important topic of discussion.Using self-efficacy theory as the foundation, youth work efficacy is the confidence youth workers have in their abilities to effectively work with youth (Kowalski, Gassman, & Konecny, 2011).Youth workers play a vital role in children's development, and whether it is teaching life skills or effectively designing creative play opportunities, it is important that child and youth care workers believe in their own abilities when guiding children.
A possible mitigating factor in the assessment of a youth workers' efficacy levels is the perceived organizational support felt by workers.Perceived organizational support (POS) is the extent to which staff members feel their employer is concerned with their well-being and the value of their contributions to the organization (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986).As Speritzer (1995) noted, the way staff members view their own abilities in the workplace is a result of POS; the POS also impacts the level of competence employees feel in shaping their behaviors at work.Ideally, an interdependent workplace relationship between staff members and the supervisors of an organization creates a supportive environment, in turn, positively impacting self-efficacy and staff members' performance (Vogt, & Murrell, 1990).

Self-Efficacy, Youth Work Efficacy and Perceived Organizational Support
Self-efficacy is the belief one has in the successful performance of behaviors needed to produce certain outcomes.Self-efficacy is grounded in Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory; this theory describes human motivations, behaviors, attitudes, and the impact on individual's environment (Bandura, 1977(Bandura, , 1986(Bandura, , 1997;;Maddux, 1995).Further self-efficacy is multifaceted and incorporated into research areas such as program management, organizational leadership, and group dynamics (Bandura, 1997).Efficacy expectations are an individual's belief in his or her capabilities to engage in a specific behavior; these expectations vary along three specific dimensions -magnitude, generality and strength (Bandura, 1977(Bandura, , 1986(Bandura, , 1997)).Behaviors differing in magnitude are ranked depending on the difficulty level.The generality of a behavior refers to whether or not the expectations are associated with multiple situations or if they are situation specific.The final dimension, strength, refers to one's determination or perseverance in the face of obstacles and barriers.
The four main sources of information that can impact self-efficacy are performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states (Bandura, 1986(Bandura, , 1997)).Performance accomplishments are based on previously successful personal experiences.Vicarious experience, or witnessing others perform a desired behavior, may lead to envisioning successful or unsuccessful accomplishment of a task.Verbal persuasion includes the support significant others (i.e., friends, family) provide when attempting a behavior.Finally, physiological and affective states impact anxiety levels in response to stressful or challenging situations.Being physically healthy and reducing stressful and emotional situations are ways to avoid low self-efficacy levels (Bandura, 1977(Bandura, , 1997)).
Youth work efficacy (YWE) is the confidence youth development professionals have in their abilities to effectively care for youth (Kowalski, et al., 2011).It is important to understand youth work efficacy, as there are several factors associated within a youth worker's interpretation of their role that could enhance the work of practitioners and researchers in the profession.Edginton, Kowalski and Randall (2005) noted that youth work combines theory and practice, as well as the practical application of the body of knowledge associated with youth development.
The youth work professional body of knowledge is comprised of three components: theory, professional values, and applied or engineered skills (Edginton, et al., 2005).Theories supporting youth work may be found in a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, psychology and sociology.The theories inherent to these disciplines may help interpret the interactions between workers, youth, and other staff members, the philosophical and historical foundations of youth work, and the developmental stages of youth (Connell, & Kubisch, 2001;Edginton, et al., 2005).Professional values are the benchmarks that youth workers strive to achieve.Professional values "provide a beacon and compass to guide our [youth workers] efforts" (Edginton, et al., 2005, p. 261).For example, youth workers value nurturing relationships, the power of informal educational opportunities, ethical decision-making, promotion and protection of human rights, and empowerment (Banks, 1999;Edginton, et al., 2005;Jeffs, & Smith, 2005).The first two components, theory and professional values, create the opportunity for the third component, applied or engineered skills (Deschenes, McDonald, & McLaughlin, 2004;Edginton, et al., 2005).A large portion of applied skills are gained via on-the-job experience and staff development.Staff development can occur prior to working in the field through orientation, or during one's time in the field through in-service training.The combination of theories, professional values, and applied skills provide the foundation for individuals to become effective youth development professionals.
As stated earlier, POS is the extent to which employees feel their employer is concerned with their well-being, as well as the value of the employee's contributions to the organization (Eisenberger, et al., 1986).POS also includes employees' perceptions of whether the organization is willing to adequately support them in the following areas: a) monetary compensation for work done, b) aid during a time of need, such as illness or a work-related issue, c) interesting and stimulating work, and d) adequate working conditions (Eisenberger, et al., 1986).
The employees' ability to be innovative and spontaneously and creatively problem solve using the skills and techniques related to the job may also be linked to POS (Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Davis-LaMastro, 1990).Praise, approval, and even constructive critique of workers' abilities impact the perception of organizational support.Employees' perception of organizational support would raise expectancy levels that the organization rewards greater effort linked to meeting organizational goals, known as effort-outcome expectancy.If an employee believes that organizational support exists, that belief strengthens employees' effort-outcome expectancy and affective attachment to the organization, resulting in greater efforts to fulfill the organization's goals.Konczak, Stelly and Trusty (2002) illustrated through their research that enhancing one's feelings of occupational self-efficacy can occur by identifying factors that may impede the development of one's confidence associated with workplace duties, and then eliminating those factors through organizational support.
Using the existing research associated with youth work efficacy and POS, the purpose of this investigation was to examine if possible relationships exist between youth workers' POS levels and efficacy levels.As Hashemi, Nadi, Hosseini and Rezvanfar noted, "there is scant literature focusing on the relationship between POS and personnel's perceptions of their job self-efficacy" (2012, p.85).Currently, there are no research studies that examine youth workers' efficacy levels and the overall perception of organizational support in the youth development field.The researchers of the current study hypothesize that POS will be significantly related to the three indices of YWE -theory efficacy, professional values efficacy, and applied skills efficacy -as well as overall youth work efficacy.This research has a far-reaching impact on several factors associated with youth work and organizational development, including the creation and adherence to an organizational philosophy and management, staff development, programmatic leadership, and motivation in the workplace.

Method
After gaining Institutional Review Board approval, the researchers provided a survey to participants at an annual Midwestern state conference on youth development (see Appendix).
The participants voluntarily completed a survey associated with youth work efficacy and perceived organizational support.Those individuals who completed the survey were ensured all responses would be kept anonymous and confidential.The survey consisted of multiple sections, with the first section including demographic questions.The second section incorporated questions associated with Eisenberger, et al. (1986) concept of perceived organizational support.This section included questions associated with the support provided to the participants and their youth development organization by parents, children, administrators, and other community members.The questions were in a Likert scale format ranging from 0-9, with 0 representing "poor" to 9 representing "excellent."The final section of the survey was the Youth Work Efficacy Scale, or YWES (Kowalski, et al., 2011), which consisted of questions pertaining to youth worker's efficacy levels.These questions were also in Likert scale format, ranging from 0-9, with 0 representing "not confident at all" to 9 representing "extremely confident".The YWES consists of three indices associated with youth worker efficacy: (a) theory efficacy (TE), (b) professional values efficacy (PVE), and (c) applied skills efficacy (ASE).

Results
The participants involved in the study were 198 youth development professionals.There were 31 males (15.7%) and 159 females (80.3%) who participated in the study; eight participants (4%) chose not to indicate their gender.The average age of participants involved in the study was 28.57years.Study participants' age ranges are shown in Figure 1.No Age Listed

Age of Participants
There was a wide array of education levels completed by the participants in the study, as indicated in Figure 2.Over 60% of the participants in the study had completed some high school education, a high school diploma or their general education development (GED) diploma, or engaged in college/university education.A small percentage of participants (11%) chose not to indicate their highest educational level attained.

Figure 2
Out Cronbach's alpha levels were calculated to determine the internal reliability of each index of questions associated with the YWES.Overall, all three indices associated with the YWES exhibited high internal reliability.Table 1 displays the participants' responses on the scale related to the three indices.The results associated with POS questions indicated that the perceived occupational support provided by the parents, children, administrators, and other community members for the organization were all relatively level.The statistical results for each group of individuals were between 6.8-6.9, indicating that the participants felt the four groups provided strong positive support for their work at the youth development organization.
Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated for theory efficacy, professional values efficacy, applied skills efficacy, youth worker efficacy, perceived occupational support, age, previous attendance at an education session, and highest level of education to examine if significant relationships existed between these variables.A number of significant relationships were found among the dependent and independent variables (Table 2).

Summary and Discussion
As the researchers hypothesized, youth workers' POS were significantly related to the three indices of youth work efficacy, as well as overall youth work efficacy.These results align with previous research associated with POS and self-efficacy conducted by Eisenberger, et al. (1986;1990) and Konczak, et al. (2002).For example, youth workers who believe administrators are backing their efforts to create a safe, learning environment for youth may feel more support from the organization.Administrative steps to support youth workers may include staff development or in-service trainings, extra pay for overtime spent at work, providing a variety of professional development opportunities for staff members, and adherence to curriculum or accreditation standards (Edginton, et al., 2005).As Eisenberger, et al. (1990) pointed out, these genuine and sincere efforts to embrace and support staff members impacts POS.
A unique component of youth work is the spontaneity and creativity that children exhibit during the day; these spontaneous and creative moments also involve workers who serve as guides and mentors for children (Malekoff, 2014).These moments include creative leadership by the worker, especially if a topic arises that was not covered in staff development or in-service training.Youth workers who take risks, step outside of their "comfort zone", and try new techniques when working with youth help creatively problem solve and effectively guide children.Administrators who support staff during these types of moments, inclusive of constructive criticism regarding their efforts, positively impact the POS of workers (Eisenberger, et al., 1990).The culmination of these steps will be workers who feel secure, safe, and in control while working with youth.The feelings of uselessness and powerlessness dissipate, resulting in staff members who are proactive, innovative, and positive role models for young people.Working to eliminate detrimental feelings in the workplace and replacing them with administrative support, coupled with opportunities for staff members to grow personally and professionally, positively impacts self-efficacy (Konczak, et al., 2002).
As the body of knowledge expands within the youth development field associated with selfefficacy and organizational variables such as perceived organizational support, there are various research studies that could be conducted.First, examining the tripartite relationship between youth workers' self-efficacy, perceived organizational support, and an organizational variable (such as occupational valence) could yield relevant results associated with motivation, staff development, and morale.Second, analyzing the effectiveness of staff development opportunities or training sessions associated with a particular area of the youth development field (i.e., behavior management, crisis intervention) in conjunction with perceived organizational support and self-efficacy levels of staff members could also provide insight into key components of training that may or may not be present.Third, investigating the relationship between staff members' self-efficacy, perceived organizational support and the youth work setting (i.e., early childhood, adolescence) may provide valuable results highlighting workers' effort-outcome expectancy, affective attachment to the organization, and desire to fulfill organizational goals.These three studies are just a few examples of future research opportunities that would continue to positively enhance youth development practitioners' understanding of the organizational climate, as well as the far-reaching effects employees' confidence in their abilities has on an organization's mission, vision and philosophy.

Appendix -Survey Instrument
Occupational valence refers to the attractiveness of a job to an employee.Think about the attractiveness or appeal of your current job.Please rate the importance for each of the items below.Your answers will be kept completely confidential.
How important is it to you to have a job which: Figure 1 of the 198 participants, 97 (49%) had no previous education or training and 79 (39.9%) had received some type of training or educational session in the field of youth development.Examples of such trainings include 4-H training, mandatory child abuse reporting, coaching education classes, behavior management training sessions, and various camp counselor trainings.Twenty-two participants (11.1%) chose not to indicate if they previously attended an education or training session in youth development prior to participation in the study.

Table 2
Correlations of Independent Variables the participation population; the results of the test did not yield any significant relationships.Multiple linear regression tests were conducted as well using gender, age, previous attendance at a youth development education session, and highest education level attained to see if the combination of independent variables significantly predicted TE, PVE, ASE, YWE, and POS.The results of the regression tests did not significantly predict TE, PVE, ASE, YWE, or POS levels.
development education session, TE, PVE, ASE, YWE, and POS to see if significant relationships existed between the independent and dependent variables.No significant relationships were identified through the independent samples t-tests.A Mann-Whitney U test was conducted with gender, TE, PVE, ASE, YWE, and POS since there was not a normal distribution of males and females in

important is it to you to have a job which:
Social support refers to the physical, emotional, and mental comfort provided by family, friends, coworkers, and others.Social support also involves the existence of resources provided by other people -those people who let us know that they care about, value and love us.

comparison with your perception of the ideal youth development organization, how would you rate:
Youth work self-efficacy, or youth work confidence, refers to the extent to which staff members believe that they have the capacity to effectively lead youth and fellow staff members in the youth development field.Think about how confident you are as a staff member.Please rate your confidence for each of the items below.

confident are you in your ability to:
For the following table related to work experience, please answer in all columns that apply, including your current organization: Copyright of Journal of Youth Development ~ Bridging Research and Practice.Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without copyright holder's express written permission.Contact Editor at: patricia.dawson@oregonstate.edu for details.However, users may print, download or email articles for individual use.ISSN 2325-4017 (Online) ©