Efficacy is a popular word in educational circles these days. Merriam-Webster defines efficacy as, “the power to produce an effect.” While this may sound suspiciously tautological, that’s because the concept, and the larger point, are so simple. When we talk about empowerment, we’re talking about efficacy and what we really mean is giving someone the power to make a difference.

All too often, students feel unable to make that difference, not only in their own learning, but in the wider world of their lives. These students have struck a Faustian bargain where, in exchange for their excitement, engagement, and passion, they have agreed to passively meet educational requirements and “pay their dues.”

And who are their counterparts, on the educational stage? They are teachers who themselves feel like the sea of faces before them changes with depressing rapidity, even as they struggle to convey the disciplinary content of their courses and meet professional and institutional requirements. We needn’t wonder why efficacy is a popular word—it offers all the promise and hope of the word water to a man dying of thirst in the desert.

The good news is that an effect—a difference—need not be big to be important. Consider those who have had a positive effect upon you; chances are that while your parents probably make that list, other individuals, who had no legal responsibility to you or your well-being, made a tremendous difference in who you are and the choices you have made. Do you remember that teacher who believed in you more than you believed in yourself? She (or he) was the one who assumed that you’d be able to meet the challenges in front of you; that while the process itself might not be easy or pretty, that there was no question you’d get there in the end. That kind of belief—that stubborn refusal to accept the limits we give ourselves or have accepted from others—makes us think that maybe they see something we do not; that maybe we CAN, after all. It is surprising how often we accept the perceptions of others as real. What perceptions do you have regarding the students in your classes? Do you perceive their limitations or do you see their boundless potential?

In so many contexts (education, work, relationships, etc.), when efficacy is doubted and that doubt signaled, the result is immobility and despair: “I can’t, so why bother.” Or, perhaps worse, just going through the motions and doing what’s needed to get by. Conversely, when faith and belief in the potential of others, whether students, co-workers, or family members, is offered, amazing things happen. The can’t becomes not only a resounding CAN, but efficacy in practice: BEING and DOING. Communicating efficacy is saying, in words as well as actions, “You make a difference and what you do makes a difference.” This is the most powerful affirmation that an educator can give to a learner.