Self-Efficacy as a Psychological Resource in Community Corrections: A Public Administration Perspective from West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

Self-efficacy is a psychological construct that may provide useful information for understanding how public employees perceive their capabilities in performing professional tasks. In community corrections, personnel undertake responsibilities that require professional judgment, interaction with clients, and the application of knowledge across different work situations. This study describes the self-efficacy profiles of Community Corrections Officers (Pembimbing Kemasyarakatan) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and discusses their implications for public-sector human resource development. The study employed a descriptive quantitative approach using survey data collected in 2021 from 42 officers. The analysis examined 19 questionnaire items grouped into three dimensions of self-efficacy: magnitude, generality, and strength. Descriptive statistics and hypothetical-score categorization were used to summarize the respondents’ profiles. The overall self-efficacy score had a mean of 58.79 (SD = 7.36), with observed scores ranging from 41 to 76. At the dimension level, magnitude had the highest mean per item (3.19), followed by strength (3.07) and generality (2.99), on a four-point scale. Based on the hypothetical-score criteria, 81.0% of respondents were classified in the high category for magnitude, 64.3% for generality, and 59.5% for strength. No respondents were classified in the low category for any dimension. These findings provide a descriptive profile of perceived capabilities within the study sample. From a public administration perspective, the results suggest that dimension-level self-efficacy information may contribute to workforce development planning when considered alongside competency assessments, organizational conditions, and supervisory feedback. The study does not establish causal relationships between self-efficacy and job performance. Its contribution lies in providing context-specific evidence from community corrections in West Kalimantan and identifying directions for further research on psychological resources in public-sector personnel management.