Professionalism, Urban Settings, and Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Developing Countries: A Ghanaian Perspective.

Abstract

In achieving the goals of education, it is imperative for teachers to have high self-efficacy which has a direct positive effect on their delivery and for the overall benefit of their pupils. This study was in three-fold. First was to access the influence of teachers’ demographics on their self-efficacy. Second, how work environment influences teachers’ self-efficacy and finally, how their self-efficacy impact students’ performances in the Bolgatanga municipality of Ghana. The efficacy dimensions studied are classroom management practices, classroom instructional practices, and student engagement. It was noted that whiles gender has no significant impact on teachers’ self-efficacy, older, more educated and highly experienced teachers had higher self-efficacy. Also, teachers in the urban area tend to have higher self-efficacy than those in rural areas. Not overlooking other factors, students’ poor performance in some rural areas can largely be attributed to the lower self-efficacy of their teachers as compared to their urban counterparts. Governments should intensify their extrinsic motivation packages to make life more comfortable for teachers working in rural areas and by bridging the rural-urban developmental gap. It is also imperative to intensify self-efficacy in teacher trainees to increase their self-confidence where ever they find themselves.