Influenced by Confucianism, the social role is postponed from school to work in Taiwan, most young adults enter the job market after completing a higher education degree. However, in recent years, delayed graduation by postgraduate students has become a problem. To understand this phenomenon, this study recruited a mix of participants who had already graduated and participants who were about to graduate (individuals who had completed their courses and thesis). The aim of the study was to explore (1) how individuals’ academic self-efficacy affects their active learning strategies and academic self-confidence and (2) how this is reflected in the duration of their studies. A total of 245 valid questionnaires were collected, comprising the responses of 91 men and 154 women. Among the participants, 34.3% graduated on time, whereas 51% did not graduate on time because of incomplete theses. A confirmatory factor analysis approach was adopted in this study. The results demonstrated that academic self-efficacy was positively related to active learning strategies (higher-order, integrative, and reflective strategies) and active learning strategies were positively related to academic self-confidence, whereas academic self-confidence was negatively related to an extended duration for completing a master’s degree.

academic self-efficacy; academic self-confidence; active learning strategies; belief-action-outcome model; study duration