Remembering Albert Bandura: How Social Cognitive Theory Has Advanced Educational Research and Practice

Event Description

Albert Bandura passed away in the summer of 2021, ending a 68-year career as one of the most eminent psychologists in history. In this interactive webinar, we celebrate his life and legacy with Professors Dale Schunk and Ellen Usher.  As two of the most prolific researchers in the field, Dr. Schunk and Dr. Usher will share personal stories and thoughts about Bandura’s contributions to educational psychology. The discussion will focus on how social cognitive theory has informed understandings of human agency, vicarious influences, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and moral disengagement in educational contexts. The webinar will conclude with a question and answer session, and participants are invited to share thoughts about the late professor. This webinar will be hosted via the Zoom platform and incorporate interactive elements to engage participants in the conversation.

Featured Speakers

Dr. Dale Schunk is a former Dean of the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and currently serves as a professor in the Teacher Education and Higher Education Department. He completed his dissertation under Albert Bandura in 1979 and his work examines student cognition, self-regulation, and motivation from a social cognitive perspective.

Dr. Schunk is a Past President of Division 15 and a Fellow of both Division 15 and the American Educational Research Association. He is the author of the textbook Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective, now in its eighth edition.

Dr. Ellen Usher is Chellgren Endowed Professor at the University of Kentucky, where she holds joint appointments in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology. She is the research director of the P20 Motivation and Learning Lab, which explores applications of Bandura’s social cognitive theory to motivation in various educational contexts. Her research focuses primarily on the self-efficacy beliefs of students and their teachers.

Dr. Usher has served as associate editor of the British Journal of Educational Psychology and on the editorial board of the American Educational Research Journal, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Educational Psychologist, and Journal of Educational Psychology. She is a Fellow of APA Division 15.