A comparison of teacher efficacy for pre and in-service

Here is an excellent article that a reader sent in. I think it deserves recognition. I am posting it in a series because it is quite long.

A comparison of teacher efficacy for pre and in-service teachers in Scotland and America.

( Education )

Teaching is obviously not a simple or mechanical activity; in fact, Naring (1990) suggests that teaching is a complex process requiring skills and strategies such as:

* preparing lesson and unit plans

* motivating students to learn

* creating a climate for teaching

* using textbooks and curriculum guides effectively

* using a variety of teaching skills

* using media and technology

* maintaining classroom discipline

* diagnosing student difficulties and adapting instruction to meet individual needs

Pre-service and in-service teacher education programs must certainly include preparation in these important areas, but should also include the development of confidence in ones ability to execute these teaching activities effectively. This latter concept has come to be known as teacher efficacy.

Importance of Teacher Efficacy

In terms of including the development of teacher efficacy in teacher education and in-service programs, "it is important to instill a sense of efficacy in those who are being prepared to ensure that they have the confidence to attempt to apply their knowledge when the appropriate time comes" (Gorrell and Capron, 1990, p. 15). Further, the extent to which teachers believe they can affect student learning may influence teacher/student interactions and teachers' success in facilitating gains in student achievement (Dembo and Gibson, 1985).

The importance of teacher efficacy is corroborated by Morin and Welsh (1991) who state that "an educator with high teaching efficacy will engage in activities that promote the development of competencies, whereas teachers with low efficacy may avoid engaging in those activities" (pp. 3-4).

It seems reasonable to conclude that the higher a teacher's sense of efficacy, the more successful that teacher will be in facilitating desirable student outcomes. The relationship between teacher efficacy and teacher effectiveness was explored by Gibson and Dembo (1984). They observed that teachers' beliefs in their own abilities to teach students may contribute to individual teacher differences in effectiveness. "One would predict that teachers who believe student learning can be influenced by effective teaching, and who also have confidence in their own teaching abilities, should persist longer, provide a greater academic focus in the classroom, and exhibit different types of feedback than teachers who have lower expectations concerning their ability to influence student learning" (p. 570).

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