English teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and students learning approaches

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the direct and indirect effects that teachers' self-efficacy beliefs exert on students' learning approaches via affecting their perceptions of classroom structure. The sample included 40 English teachers and 240 first-grade female students from high schools in Iran. To collect data, three questionnaires were applied: (a) Self-Efficacy Beliefs Questionnaire was answered by the teachers, and (b) Study Process Questionnaire and Survey of Classroom Structure Goals were given to the students. Path analysis revealed that, via Motivating Tasks, Mastery Evaluation, and Autonomy Support, teachers' self-efficacy beliefs had an indirect and positive effect on students' deep learning approaches but an indirect and negative effect on their surface learning approaches. Also, teachers' self-efficacy beliefs affected students' deep learning approaches directly and positively but their surface learning approaches directly and negatively. Moreover, it was found that Motivating Tasks, Mastery Evaluation, and Autonomy Support had direct and positive effects on students' deep learning approaches but direct and negative effects on their surface learning approaches. All the relationships between model variables were statistically significant. The results tend to verify that students' perception of classroom structure plays a mediating role between teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and students' learning approaches.