Exploring factors related to preschool teachers’ self-efficacy

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Abstract

This study examined how teacher (teaching experience, perceptions of teacher collaboration and teacher influence) and classroom (children’s engagement) characteristics predicted teacher self-efficacy for 48 preschool teachers in the U.S. Results showed a significant interaction effect between teachers’ perceptions of collaboration and children’s engagement in predicting teachers’ reported self-efficacy. Specifically, a higher level of children’s engagement was associated with a higher level of teacher self-efficacy when teachers worked in preschool with high levels of staff collaboration. Teacher experience and influence in decision-making were not related to teacher self-efficacy. Implications for early childhood teacher education and professional development are discussed.

Highlights

► Teachers’ self-efficacy is contextually situated, such that the characteristics of teachers and classrooms are associated with teachers’ self-efficacy. ► Preschool teachers’ self-efficacy was predicted by the interaction between teachers’ sense of collaboration and children’s engagement. ► Neither teachers’ teaching experience nor their decision-making influence significantly predicted teachers’ self-efficacy.

Section snippets

Teacher self-efficacy

As the core of social cognitive theory, the concept of self-efficacy refers to an individual’s judgment of his/her capability to perform actions at the designated level (Bandura, 1997). Individuals who believe that they will be successful on a given task are more likely to achieve desired results because they allocate substantial effort, persist in the face of setbacks, and develop coping mechanism for managing any negative events (Bandura, 1986, Bandura, 1997). Self-efficacy is not a global

Teaching experience

Previous researchers have suggested that differences in teacher characteristics may affect teachers’ sense of efficacy. Teaching experience may be one teacher characteristic that is related to teacher self-efficacy, but findings have been inconsistent. Some researchers have found a positive relation between teacher self-efficacy and teaching experience among preschool, primary, and secondary teachers (e.g., Cheung, 2008, Hoy and Woolfolk, 1993, Wolters and Daugherty, 2007). For instance, within

Summary and study aims

Policymakers, early childhood practitioners, and researchers have suggested that efforts are needed to improve the quality of preschool education for young children and to ensure the quality of preschool teachers (Barnett, 2003, Darling-Hammond, 2000, Vecchiotti, 2001). Previous studies have established the importance of preschool teachers’ self-efficacy to classroom quality and to fostering children academic achievement (Guo et al., 2010, Justice et al., 2008). Therefore, better understanding

Participants

Participants were 48 preschool teachers in 38 preschool centers who were enrolled in a larger study of preschool instructional practices. Centers were affiliated with Head Start (n = 27) and state-funded pre-K/Title I (n = 11). Within the U.S., Head Start is an early education program sponsored by federal government to reduce socio-economic disparity in school readiness (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2005). State-funded pre-K/Title I is a state-funded prekindergarten program that

Results

To examine the first research question, we examined intercorrelations among teacher self-efficacy, teachers’ teaching experiences, teacher collaboration and decision-making influence, and children’s engagement as presented in Table 2. Teacher collaboration (r = .39, p < .05) and teacher decision-making influence (r = .34, p < .05) were both positively associated with teacher self-efficacy. Teacher teaching experience was positively related to children’s engagement (r = .50, p < .05). However, teaching

Discussion

In the present study, we reasoned that preschool teachers’ self-efficacy would be contextually situated, such that the characteristics of teachers and classrooms would be associated with teachers’ self-efficacy. Our results confirmed the influence of these contextual variables. Two major findings emerged from our study. First, correlation analysis showed that teachers’ self-efficacy was significantly correlated with both dimensions of teachers’ sense of community, namely teachers’ perceptions

Limitations

To conclude, this study explored the relations of teacher and classroom characteristics to teachers’ self-efficacy. A number of limitations warrant note. First, in interpreting the findings of this correlational study, it is important to note that our sample only included teachers in publicly-funded preschool classrooms serving at risk children. Therefore, it is not clear whether these findings about teachers’ self-efficacy can be generalized to other settings, such as programs serving children

Implications and conclusions

As teacher efficacy continues to be a potent construct in studies of teachers’ instructional practices (Guskey, 1987), examining the context variables that are associated with teacher efficacy will improve our understanding of this construct and its influence on teaching and children’s learning process. The current study underscored the importance of teacher collaboration and children’s engagement in supporting preschool teachers’ sense of efficacy.

The present study may have important, albeit

Acknowledgment

This research was supported in part by Grant R305G050057 from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. The content of this paper does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of IES, nor does it infer any official endorsement. We are very grateful to the children, teachers and research staff who made this project possible.

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