During the past two decades, self-efficacy belief, which is an outgrowth of the social cognitive theory of Bandura, has been one of the most prevailing and influential constructs within many domains of modern psychology. In the present article, the self-efficacy belief that has been emerged as a highly effective predictor of students' motivation and learning is investigated in terms of its characteristics, component processes, related concepts, source, measurement, and the hierarchical nature of the construct. Despite the heavy emphasis on task-specific self-efficacy beliefs in the current practice, some researchers' interests in the conceptualization and measurement of general or of context-specific self-efficacy are also discussed in regards to students' learning, teachers' teacher-efficacy, and collective efficacy. Finally, research findings in the improvements of perceived efficacy are summarized, and the directions of future research and ways to enhance self-efficacy beliefs both in students and teachers are also discussed in relation to Korean educational settings.