Why Is Confidence Important for Students? Especially Neurodivergent Adolescents Learning Math

I hated school. I repeat. I hated school…but I loved to learn.  So naturally I became a teacher.  My primary focus…helping students learn to become resourceful.  The content was just a tool and could be easily interchanged with any other skill. When a student believed they could find the resources to solve their problems and did it, then I knew I had done my job. 

Math tutoring isn’t all about drills, worksheets, and catching up on homework.For many teens—especially those who are neurodivergent—it’s really about something deeper.
It’s about helping them believe they’re capable.
That they can figure things out.
That they can do math—even if it doesn’t always look the traditional way.
In this post, we’re diving into the quiet power behind math success: self-efficacy.
And how, during tutoring sessions, we gently build it up… one win at a time.

What Is Self-Efficacy?

Self-efficacy is a fancy word for something simple: your belief in your ability to do something.

If a student has high self-efficacy in math, it means they believe, “I can figure this out—even if it’s hard.”
If they have low self-efficacy, their first thought might be, “I’m just not a math person. I’ll never get this.”

It's not about how smart they are.
It's about what they believe they're capable of.

And here's the important part:
That belief actually affects how they perform.

Why It Matters So Much in Math

Math is one of the most emotional subjects for teens.
There’s usually a clear right or wrong answer, which can feel intimidating—especially if a student has struggled in the past.

For neurodivergent learners, it can be even more complex.
They may learn in non-linear ways.
They may process information differently.
And often, they’ve had years of experiences that quietly told them they weren’t “good at math.”

So when they come into a tutoring session, they're often carrying a whole story about themselves and math.
Self-efficacy is the part we focus on to gently rewrite that story.

What This Looks Like in a Real Tutoring Session

We don’t just jump into problems and hope for the best.
Here’s what we actually do to build self-efficacy:

• We start with a quick win—a problem they can solve—to build confidence.
  

• We talk through their thinking and praise how they approach the problem, not just whether they got it right.
  

• We show them mistakes are part of learning, not a reason to shut down.
  

• We pause and say things like:
  “Hey, do you notice how you figured that out on your own?”
  “That was a really clever way to break that problem apart.”
  

That kind of feedback sticks.
It’s not about fake praise.
It’s about helping them see what they’re doing well—especially when they don’t see it themselves.

The Curiosity Connection

One of the sneaky ways we build self-efficacy during tutoring is by making math interesting.

When students are curious, their brains shift out of fear mode and into discovery mode.
They’re more open to trying, more willing to struggle, and way more likely to engage.

That curiosity leads to small successes—solving a cool pattern, noticing something new, asking “what if”—and those successes build belief.

Even better?
Curious learners ask questions.
And every question gives us a chance to model thinking, validate effort, and strengthen their confidence.

Why Is Confidence Important for Students?

Confidence is more than just a nice-to-have—it’s a key part of learning, especially in subjects like math.

When students believe in their ability to figure things out, they take more academic risks, try harder problems, and recover more easily from mistakes.
This is especially true for neurodivergent students, who may have internalized the idea that they “just aren’t math people.”

Confidence doesn’t mean always knowing the answer.
It means believing you can get there.

And that belief is what opens the door to deeper learning, more curiosity, and long-term academic success.

3 Research-Based Ways Tutors Build Self-Efficacy in Math

1. Mastery Experiences

This just means we give them chances to succeed.
Not with random problems, but with the right ones—ones that match their level and stretch them just a bit.
Repeated success builds belief.
One problem at a time.

🧠 Backed by: Albert Bandura’s research on self-efficacy—the most powerful builder is “mastery experience.”

2. Verbal Encouragement (Done Right)

We don’t just say “good job.”
We say why it was a good job.
Things like:

• “You really stuck with that even when it got frustrating.”
  

• “I noticed you didn’t give up when you got stuck—you tried a different strategy.”
  

These affirmations help students start to say those things to themselves.

✅ Studies show specific, genuine encouragement helps students internalize a sense of competence.

3. Modeling

Sometimes, we work a problem together and talk through how we think about it.
This shows students that struggle is normal—and that thinking through a problem is part of the process.

When they see someone else work through confusion without panicking, it lowers the pressure.

🧩 Research shows modeling helps students develop strategies and reduce fear of failure.

Final Thoughts

If your child has ever said, “I’m just bad at math,” what they’re really telling you is that they’ve lost faith in their own ability to learn.

Tutoring is our chance to help them rebuild that belief—gently, consistently, and with a whole lot of compassion.

And if you’ve ever wondered why is confidence important for students?, this is it:
Because once a student believes they can learn math…
They usually do.

If you think Enrichology Tutoring's services could help you or your student, set up a free consultation.