by Dr. Michael
Miller
The origin of the construct of teachers’ efficacy is situated
at the end of 1970s,
when it was
understood as the degree to
which the teacher believes in his capabilities
to bring about desired
outcomes, such as student
engagement (Ashton & Webb, 1986). A clear interest in getting
to know the ultimate meaning of the construct
and how it can be related to the teacher's behavior
became critical. Years later, teaching self-efficacy continues to arouse the
interest of many researchers
because of its relevance to various aspects of the educational process, as shown
in the multiple studies since the birth
of the construct. According
to Bandura (1986), teachers’ efficacy is
not only enough knowledge of the
subject and
mastery of a set of teaching skills to ensure effective
teaching, but it is also
about teaching activities effectively.
It additionally requires
personal judgments about one's ability to
use such knowledge and skills to teach
under unpredictable circumstances, and varied time
(Brand, 2000).
The conception
of self-efficacy,
ultimately, acts as a cognition mediator between knowledge
and teaching activities (Brandt, 2006). In one study, Bliss
and Mazur (2006) concluded that the efficacy of the teachers
is not only related to students’ outcomes
in terms
of performance, motivation, and self-efficacy, but is also linked
to behaviors that manifest this
in the classroom.
In general, teachers with
a high sense of self-efficacy show greater
openness to new ideas and
more willingness to try new methods
if these are better suited to the needs
of students. It is also believed that it helps teachers to
plan and better organize their classes, spend
more time and energy with students who are struggling in their
learning, express great enthusiasm for teaching,
and feel more committed
to their profession. Self-efficacy is a belief of teachers, which ultimately affects their
teaching practice
and their attitude toward
the entire educational process (DeCorse & Vogtle, 2007).
In addition,
studies show it to be a good
predictor of student achievement
and
the sense of efficacy of
teachers is directly related to their own performance. The results
of several investigations, as developed by Raudenbush
(2008), show that self-efficacy of teachers depends on contextual factors. The same
teacher will show various levels
of self-efficacy in different
classes depending on whether they feel
prepared to teach that subject and depending on their perception about the ability
level of their
students (Dodd, 2005).
The teacher
with high self-efficacy feels able to involve students in the process of learning, although this perception
might be limited to the
level of teacher preparation. Different
people with similar skills or even the
same person in different situations
may vary in the achievement obtained
after performing an action.
This has important implications for research
on self-efficacy of the
teacher (Dollase, 2004).
Teachers face different
groups of students each day, which differ
in the subject taught,
the level of the teacher’s knowledge, and the size
of the class. Because
of this, the teacher’s self-efficacy may be
subjected to multiple variations.
In short, to be useful and generalized, the measure of
teacher effectiveness must include the teacher's perception
of their effectiveness to develop large
variety of tasks to
perform. They must evaluate
and analyze the
applicability to the tasks of
their daily work
in a given teaching context (Dwyer,
2003).
Dr.
Michael Miller is a professor specializing in learning strategies for success
for online students, organizational behavior, and educational leadership. Michael
has a Bachelor of Science in Education, Master of Science in Instructional
Design and Development, an Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership
(K-12), and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Higher Education).
His background includes elementary school teaching and administration, mentoring/training
new teachers, curriculum development, online course design, and higher
education administration. Currently, Michael is conducting research related to
teacher preparation, online collaborative learning tools and processes, and effective online teaching practices through student engagement, stimulating intellectual development,
and building rapport. Dr. Miller can
be reached at michaelsm47@gmail.com
References
Ashton, P.T., & Webb, R.
B. (1986). Making
a difference: Teachers’
sense of efficacy and student
achievement. New York: Longman.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought
and action: A social
cognitive theory.
Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bliss, T., & Mazur, J. (2006). CASENET: Developing associations of experienced
and novice educators through technology. Journal of Teacher
Education, 47(3), 185- 190.
Brand, S. F. (2000). Undergraduates
and beginning preschool teachers
working with young children: Educational and developmental
issues. Young Children, 45(2), 19-24.
Brandt, R. (2006). On a new direction
for teacher
evaluation: A conversation
with Tom McGreal. Educational Leadership, 53(6),
30-33.
DeCorse,
C. J. B., & Vogtle, S. P. (2007). In
a complex voice: The contradictions of male elementary teachers’ career
choice and professional identity. Journal
of Teacher Education,
48, 37-46.
Dodd, A. W. (2005). Engaging students: What I learned along the way. Educational
Leadership, 53(1),
65-67.
Dollase, R. H. (2004). Voices of beginning teachers: Visions and
realities (book review).
Educational Leadership, 51(4), 91.
Dwyer, C.
A. (2003). Teaching and
diversity: Meeting the challenges for innovative teacher assessment.
Journal
of Teacher Education,
44, 119-129.
Raudenbush, S. W. (2008). Advancing education policy by advancing research
on
instruction. American Educational Research
Journal, 45(1), 206-230.
