Personal Teaching Efficacy Research Articles

The effects of participation in teacher research on teacher efficacy

An academic year-long teacher research initiative was implemented in an alternative education school in a large school district in the southwest United States. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were utilized to examine participatory teacher research as an active, collaborative means of professional development for teachers, including its effect on teacher efficacy and empowerment. Results indicated growth in both general and personal teaching efficacies from pre- to posttest. Collaboration was consistently related to general teaching efficacy. Perceptions of school climate were related to personal teaching efficacy at pretest. No relationship was observed between empowerment and efficacy.

An Examination of Change in Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Science Education Based on the Duration of Inservice Activities

Researchers investigated the optimum length of teacher inservice activities where increasing teacher efficacy was the goal. Participants were elementary science teachers from seven teacher enhancement projects conducted from 1992-99. The length breakdown of each program was: 1992--6 weeks; 1994--6 weeks; 1995--4 weeks; 1996--4 weeks; 1997--4 weeks; 1998--3 weeks; and 1999--2 weeks. In each of the projects, teachers completed the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) on the first and last days of the inservice workshops. The STEBI examined personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) and science teaching outcome expectancy. Data analysis indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the mean PSTE gain scores on the three contrast variables among the four groups of teachers whose PSTE pretest scores were greater than or equal to 50. This may be due to the fact that teachers already scored high on the PSTE scale. Among teachers whose pretest PSTE scores were less than 50, there were significant gains when comparing the mean gain scores from teachers in the land 3-week sessions and teachers in the 4and 6-week sessions. It was found that inservice intervention programs had the greatest impact on the efficacy of those teachers who began the program with the lowest efficacy. Given the consistent relationships demonstrated between teacher efficacy and positive student outcomes, inservices impacting teachers' low efficacy are worth close examination. (Contains 32 references and 8 tables.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Teacher Efficacy in Writing: A Construct Validation With Primary Grade Teachers

Teacher efficacy has been identified as a variable accounting for individual differences in teacher practice and student outcome. Because teacher efficacy is a specific rather than a generalized expectancy, an examination was done on the validity and reliability of a teacher efficacy instrument designed specifically for the area of writing. Consistent with previous teacher efficacy research, a factor analysis of the instrument yielded 2 dimensions: 1 measuring personal teaching efficacy and the other general teaching efficacy. Both factors were reliable and only slightly correlated with each other. The reported classroom practices of high- and low-efficacy teachers differed, providing further support for the validity of the instrument. It was also found that variation in efficacy scores was related to teachers' beliefs about how to teach writing.

Predictors of Educator’s Valuing of Systematic Inquiry in Schools

Abstract: This exploratory survey study of 310 educators was conducted to investigate what variables best predict educators’ attitudes toward systematic inquiry in schools. Eight variables were selected as potential predictors of educators’ self-reported views about applied research utility and relevance, their personal ability to do research, the need for teacher involvement in systematic inquiry, and teacher training in research methods. Significant proportions of the variance in the dependent variables were explained by prior participation in research and personal teacher efficacy. Years of experience teaching, perceived organizational learning capacity of respondents’ schools, and the panel in which respondents taught had modest explanatory value. Results are discussed in terms of our knowledge and understanding of teacher receptiveness to systematic inquiry in schools and implications for research and practice.

Characteristics of Teachers Who Talk the DAP Talk and Walk the DAP Walk

Studies consistently find a discrepancy between teachers' self-reported beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and their actual, observable classroom practices. Teachers attribute the discrepancy to a variety of environmental/work-related stresses or institutional barriers. Some early childhood professionals, however, are either unaffected by, or able to cope with, these same obstacles and live out DAP beliefs in practice. What are the characteristics of teachers who both state a belief in DAP and engage in DAP practices in their early childhood classrooms? Although there were differences between preschool and primary teachers in this sample of 20 early childhood educators of children ages birth through 8, DAP beliefs overall were strongly correlated with practices at the p <.001 level (r = .79). Also, high personal teaching efficacy and internal locus of control were significantly related to high DAP beliefs and predictive of DAP practices. In addition, teachers who either had an academic background in early childhood education or child development, or who had experience working in a preschool, were found to be significantly more DAP in their actual classroom practices than those who had an elementary education degree and no preschool experience. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed.

Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Professional Learning: Implications for School Leaders

This study examines teachers’ professional development experiences through the lenses of personal teaching efficacy and professional learning. This qualitative study examined the professional development experiences of teachers with either high or low senses of personal teaching efficacy. The study found that the level of personal teaching efficacy influences how and in what ways individual teachers experience professional development. The findings provide support for approaches to professional development that address individual needs. Also discussed are implications for school leaders and others charged with establishing professional learning environments that enhance teachers’ efficacy beliefs.Theories of professional learning underscore the importance of understanding how various individual characteristics such as career stage, level of expertise, and professional field influence professional learning. While empirical studies in these areas exist in fields such as medicine, law and business, relatively few studies focus on teacher perspectives on professional development (Cervero, 1988). As Cervero (1988) discusses, the type and quality of professional learning that occurs in practice depends, in part, on individual characteristics, including efficacy.Understanding how teachers experience professional learning is vital to create valuable (and valued) professional learning experiences. Few studies have examined this phenomenon in depth. Those that have, typically group teachers by career stage or content area. This study began to map teacher learning experiences according personal teaching efficacy and provided insight for future and practicing school leaders into the nature of teacher professional learning—a phenomenon that encompasses formal and informal learning, and is experienced differently by individual teachers. By understanding the role of characteristics such as personal teaching efficacy on professional learning, school leaders have more reason to promote professional learning opportunities that address teachers’ diverse needs.

I Think I Can: The Role of Personal Teaching Efficacy in Bringing About Change

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsAmelia Mays WoodsJerie Weasmer is an assistant professor of English at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston. Amelia Mays Woods is an assistant professor of physical education at Indiana University, Terre Haute.

How Middle-Level Teachers Communicate an Ethos of Caring to Student Teachers: A Case Study

Fourteen student teachers and 16 cooperating teachers at two professional development middle schools participated in this study which investigated (a) how teachers and student teachers in two middle schools communicate perceptions of efficacy, (b) how their views of young adolescents and of the climate of their middle schools relate to their perceptions of efficacy, and (c) how participants translate their views of efficacy and climate into an ethos of caring. Results of this study suggest that (a) teachers and student teachers articulated high levels of personal and general teaching efficacy, (b) participants expressed sophisticated views of young adolescents, and (c) ongoing internships with cooperating teachers provided recurring opportunities for student teachers to see teachers' support for students. Participants expressed views of students, perceptions of efficacy, and impressions of culture in a connected fashion. Researchers concluded that these intertwined perceptions constitute an “ethos of caring.” The results of this study indicated that student teachers who had a strong sense of “how we do things around here”, and who “we” are felt positively about their abilities to affect student progress and care for each other.

Relationships among experience, teacher efficacy, and attitudes toward the implementation of instructional innovation

This article reports a study undertaken to investigate the relationships among teachers experience, efficacy, and attitudes toward the implementation of instructional innovation. Data were gathered through three questionnaires administered to 25 teachers immediately following a four-day staff development program on cooperative learning. Results showed that experience was negatively correlated, personal teaching efficacy positively correlated, and general teaching efficacy not correlated with teachers' attitudes toward implementing new instructional practices. Implications for instructional improvement and future research are discussed.

Impact of Middle Grades' Organization on Teacher Efficacy and Environmental Perceptions

ABSTRACT Middle grades' organizational patterns and their impact on teachers' efficacy and perceptions of their working environment were examined. The participants were 82 8th-grade teachers who were surveyed about their teaching efficacy and perceptions of their working environment. Instruments used were the Teacher Efficacy Scale and the Teacher Opinion Questionnaire. Results of the study showed that teachers on interdisciplinary teams with common planning time had significantly higher perceptions of personal teacher efficacy and more positive perceptions of their working environment than did teachers on interdisciplinary teams without common planning time or teachers who were organized departmentally. The findings failed to support a difference in general teacher efficacy among the organizational patterns.

Teacher efficacy: A model for teacher development and inclusion

Students with special needs must have the opportunity to learn in inclusive classrooms. However, this requires that classroom teachers believe that (a) students can learn in spite of any negative environmental influences in their lives, and (b) they personally have the ability to reach any student. Securing this teaching efficacy for teachers in inclusive classroom settings requires paradigm shifts in preservice and inservice teacher development programs with the precept that all students can learn and that we can assist them. The authors, one a regular and the other a special education teacher educator, collaborate to explore the issue of how best to provide and maintain a positive personal teaching efficacy among regular teacher education candidates who are faced with the challenges of having students with varying levels of ability and behavioral responses in their classrooms.

Teacher Efficacy and Past Experiences as Contributors to the Global Attitudes and Practices among Vocational Home Economics Teachers

Contributions ofteacher efficacy and past experiences to global education attitudes and practices of 78female Florida home economics teachers were studied. Teacher efficacy included twofacets: teaching efficacy as outcome expectancies and personal teaching efficacy as self‐efficacy expectations. Teacher efficacy was assessed in relation to expectations associated with teaching students about other cultural or ethnic groups. Past experiences referred to teachers' age, educational level, length of teaching in home economics, travel experiences to other world regions, and cumulative time spent outside the United States. Regression analyses revealed teaching efficacy to be the only significant predictor of teachers' global education attitudes, whereas personal teaching efficacy wasfound to be the only significant predictor of their global education practices. The overall modelsfor both ofthese analyses were significant. Findings were discussed on the basis of Bandura's self‐efficacy theory relative to the importance of aspects of teacher efficacy and past experiences in determining behavior.

Exploring Connections between Teacher Efficacy and Principals’ Leadership Behaviors

This paper reports the results of an exploratory investigation of the connections between principals’ leadership behaviors and teachers’ sense of efficacy in selected middle schools currently involved in building-level change efforts. Our findings indicate that there is a significant difference between general teaching efficacy (GTE) and personal teaching efficacy (PTE), the two dimensions that define the construct of teacher efficacy. When asked to interpret principals’ leadership behaviors, there was a significant difference between teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of principals’ leadership behaviors. Finally, the principal leadership behaviors most strongly related to GTE were models behavior, provides contingent rewards and inspires group purpose. Modeling behaviors and providing contingent rewards were also significantly related to PTE. Implications for further research, for principal preparation, and for administrative practice are discussed.

Fostering Personal Teaching Efficacy Through Staff Development and Classroom Activities

Abstract The effectiveness of the DARE to be You (DTBY) teacher training for enhancing feelings of personal teaching efficacy was assessed for 241 control or training-group teachers using a pretest, posttest, and 9-month follow-up design. Examined was the relation between personal and general teaching efficacy, satisfaction with and investment in teaching, and integration of roles. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for personal and teaching efficacy and the four teacher self-perception measures, using a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance. Level of involvement with the DTBY classroom activities was related to efficacy judgments. The study provides support for the value of the DTBY training and the importance of addressing teaching efficacy issues within staff development programs aimed at curricular innovation.

The impact of an inservice to promote cooperative learning on the stability of teacher efficacy

Teacher efficacy, the extent to which teachers believe they will be able to perform the actions that promote learning, is a key variable predicting teacher practice and student outcomes. Few studies of the stability of professional efficacy have been conducted. This inquiry measured teacher efficacy on three occasions during an 8 month inservice. The study found that it was use of inservice knowledge, not exposure to it, that contributed to changes in teacher efficacy and that it was general, not personal teaching efficacy that changed. Interactions among participants persuaded teachers that it was possible for cooperative learning techniques to reach students disadvantaged by home conditions (general teaching efficacy). Any increment in personal confidence (personal teaching efficacy) that might have arisen due to increased teaching skill in the program was offset by increased standards arising from social comparisons among teachers. Teacher changes were related to student outcomes, although not in the expected direction.

Teacher preferences for collaborative relationships: Relationship to efficacy for teaching in prevention-related domains

Recent movements in educational reform call for increased collaborative activities among school personnel. The present study examines student and practicing teacher preferences for modes of working on a variety of student-related concerns and relationships with personal and general efficacy for teaching in prevention-related areas. Elementary and secondary student teachers and practicing teachers were asked to rate their preference for working on student academic, behavioral, and self-esteem problems. The range of working preferences included working with other professionals (collaborative), letting other professionals handle the problem (expert), and working alone. These working preferences were found to vary according to teacher level of experience and grade level of teaching. Significant relationships were found between collaborative work preferences and personal teaching efficacy.

Teachers' Sense of Efficacy and the Organizational Health of Schools

This study examined the relationships between 2 carefully specified dimensions of teacher efficacy (general and personal teaching efficacy) and aspects of a healthy school climate (institutional integrity, principal influence, consideration, resource support, morale, and academic emphasis). The sample was composed of 179 teachers, randomly selected from 37 elementary schools in New Jersey. A teacher efficacy scale and a version of the Organizational Health Inventory were administered to the teachers in their schools by a researcher. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine relationships among variables. Our primary concern was with individual teacher efficacy; hence, individual teacher perception served as the unit of analysis. We found that a healthy school climate-one with a strong academic emphasis and a principal who has influence with superiors and is willing to use it on behalf of teachers-was conducive to the development of teachers' beliefs that they can influence student learning ...

Effect of Teacher Involvement and Teacher Self-Efficacy on Ratings of Consultant Effectiveness and Intervention Acceptability

From a pool of 102 elementary school teachers, 30 teachers scoring highest on a measure of personal teaching efficacy and 30 teachers scoring lowest on personal teaching efficacy were randomly assigned to view one of two videotapes of consultation. The two videotapes were identical, with the exception of the teacher's involvement in making decisions at each of three decision points in consultation: identifying the problem, selecting an assessment procedure, and selecting an intervention plan. After viewing the tape, teachers rated the consultant's effectiveness and the intervention's acceptability. Teachers with high personal teaching efficacy rated the consultant as more effective and the intervention as more acceptable. No main effect for level of involvement or hypothesized interaction effect was found. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Personal Teaching Efficacy: Developmental Relationships in Education

Abstract Using the Personal Teaching Efficacy Scale (Ashton, Olejnik, Crocker, & McAuliffe, 1982), the authors explored the comparative efficacy of six groups of educators with various levels of teaching experience. The efficacy scores were higher for more experienced educators in some instances, whereas in other simulated classroom situations, the preservice students scored higher. We discuss the meanings of the different patterns.

Pre‐service teachers’ perceptions and their behavioral interactions with young children from international cultures

Theory and research suggest that preservice techers’ personal teaching efficacy and their ethnic attributions contribute to their behavioral interactions with International children. Theoretical research contributions pertaining to personal teaching efficacy, causal attributions, and child‐teacher interaction are reviewed and are included as conceptual components for a model of teacher‐child interaction. Practical implications of this model are suggested for faculty and staff supervisors of teacher preparation programs.