Relationships between Secondary School Beginning Teachers’ Perceptions of Self-efficacy and Professional Commitment in Ethiopia

Abstract

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the secondary school beginning teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy and professional commitment, and explore differences between the perceptions of teachers in the variables of concern. This study employed a descriptive correlational design. Respondents were 381 secondary school beginning teachers. They responded to a 3-part questionnaire—demographic variables, the Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001), and Professional Commitment Scale (Allen et al., 1993). Results showed that beginning teachers in Ethiopia claim high levels of self-efficacy—efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, classroom management, and overall efficacy and affective professional commitment; while their perceptions of normative and continuance professional commitment tended to be neutral. Especially female beginning teachers in Ethiopia tended to have lower levels of self-efficacy and affective professional commitment than their male counterparts. Further, results showed weak to moderate significant positive relationships between self-efficacy and affective professional commitment (r = 0.14 to 0.22). Implications and recommendations for school practices and future research are discussed.