Early Career Teachers’ Self-Efficacy for Balanced Reading Instruction

Abstract

According to Bandura (1986; 1997), perceptions of efficacy are based on four sources: enactive attainment; vicarious experience; physiological and emotional states; and verbal persuasion. The factors affecting Early Career Teachers' self-efficacy for reading instruction are closely related to these four sources. It is not difficult to imagine an Early Career Teacher practicing within a 'source vacuum' as he or she attempts to grapple with the methodologies and strategies necessary for a balanced reading program. How, then, do they rate their teaching efficacy for this area of the curriculum? And which types of professional learning opportunities do they believe have heightened their self-efficacy for task-specific elements of reading instruction? Based on interviews and literature analysis, the findings suggest that enactive attainment and vicarious experiences are two sources of self-efficacy that need to be included in a focused manner in Early Career Teachers' professional learning for reading instruction.