An Analysis of the Relationship Between the General Self-efficacy Perceptions of Teachers and Their Political Skill Levels

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the general self-efficacy perceptions of teachers and their political skill levels. The relational screening model method was used for this study. Data was collected from 358 teachers serving at primary and secondary schools in the city of Gaziantep in the 2017-2018 academic year. The research’s data was collected through the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Political Skill Inventory. The confirmatory factor analysis was performed for each of the scales used in the study with the AMOS software. This was followed by descriptive statistics and correlation, and regression analyses with the SPSS program. Research findings indicate that teachers' general self-efficacy perceptions, as well as the interpersonal influence and apparent sincerity sub-dimensions of political skills are at a high level, while their social astuteness and networking abilities are at a medium level. As a result of the correlation analysis, it was found that the general self-efficacy had a significant positive relationship with the networking ability, apparent sincerity, social astuteness and interpersonal influence sub-dimensions of political skills. According to the stepwise multiple regression analysis results, the general self-efficacy predicts all the sub-dimensions of the political skills in a significant and positive manner. It can be suggested that teachers with high general self-efficacy perceptions have higher levels of political skills and are more likely to reach their goals by using their political skills with the people around them in the school environment.