Transformational school leadership and teacher self-efficacy as predictors of perceived collective teacher efficacy

Abstract

Although scholars have acknowledged the role of collaborative relationships of teachers in improving the quality of instruction, teacher collective efficacy continues to be a neglected construct in educational research. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between transformational school leadership, teacher self-efficacy and perceived collective teacher efficacy, using a sample of 120 permanent secondary-school teachers in Serbia, whose average age was 42.5. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that transformational school leadership and teacher self-efficacy were independent predictors of teacher collective efficacy. The research findings also showed that individually-focused transformational leadership contributed significantly to an explanation of collective efficiency after controlling specific predictor effects of group-focused dimensions of transformational leadership. It is argued that the results have a double meaning. First, this study expanded the understanding of the relationship between different dimensions of transformational school leadership and collective teacher efficacy. Second, a contribution of teacher self-efficacy to collective efficacy beliefs was established, confirming the assumptions of social cognitive theory on reciprocal causality between two types of perceived efficacy: individual and collective.