Abstract
Over the past decade, researchers continually emphasized the role of teacher efficacy in teaching effectiveness. A descriptive survey was used to investigate the level of teacher efficacy of beginning agriculture teachers in Eswatini. The population of the study were senior secondary school beginning agriculture teachers in Eswatini. The study is a census, involving all senior secondary school agriculture teachers who had up to five years of agriculture teaching experience. 161 agriculture teachers participated in the study. Data were collected using a self-administered modified Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) with a .92 reliability coefficient. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Beginning agriculture teachers were moderately efficacious in classroom management, instructional strategies and student engagement. Gender, subject specialization and affiliation to professional development bodies accounted for significant differences in teacher efficacy on selected agriculture teaching tasks. Beginning agriculture teachers are capable of getting the desired learning outcomes from senior secondary school agriculture students as indicated by the moderate level of teacher efficacy. Pre-service teacher training programmes should strengthen curriculum content on ways of engaging students.
Highlights
There is consensus among researchers and educators that any improvement in teaching and learning requires effective teaching
This paper partially addresses the gap in the research by reporting teacher efficacy levels of beginning agriculture teachers at Senior Secondary schools in the Kingdom of Eswatini
The results indicate that beginning agriculture teachers are moderately efficacious in all three dimensions of teacher efficacy namely classroom management, instructional strategies and student engagement
Summary
There is consensus among researchers and educators that any improvement in teaching and learning requires effective teaching. The concept of teacher efficacy is based on social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2006). Teacher efficacy refers to the teachers’ belief in their capabilities to organise and execute courses of action to bring about the desired students learning outcomes (Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk-Hoy & Hoy, 1998). Skaalvik and Skaalvik (2010) expanded teacher efficacy to involve individual teacher’s belief in his or her ability to plan, organise and carry out activities required to attain educational goals. Teacher efficacy is the most powerful and influential human agency factor that determines a teacher’s choices, effort levels, perseverance amidst challenges, and anxieties or confidence. There is a close relationship between teacher efficacy and getting the desired learning outcomes from students
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