Developing Self-efficacy
Developing Self-efficacy

Author: Aleisha Reid

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 99

ISBN-13:

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This qualitative case study explored how middle school English teachers in one North Texas school district perceived professional development grew or hindered their self confidence. Bandura's (1977) theory of self-efficacy provided the framework for this study. Five participants from various middle schools in Southwest Independent School District (a pseudonym) engaged in semi-structured interviews regarding their experiences with professional development and how those experiences impacted them in relation to the four sources of information (i.e., enactive mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal and social persuasion, and physiological states) as defined by Bandura (1977). Findings from this study revealed that while teachers' self efficacy grew in response to professional development, oftentimes they had to supplement their growth by seeking out their own opportunities for collaboration with colleagues or attempting to implement what they learned with their students without the support of professional development facilitators. The participants desired for professional development to take their perceived classroom needs into consideration when planning for the training events and provide more opportunities for observation and feedback. This research contributes to the limited literature regarding middle school English teachers and how professional development can be used to impact their self-efficacy, and therefore, student achievement.

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions of Student Self-efficacy
Middle School Teachers' Perceptions of Student Self-efficacy

Author: Courtney M. Amersbach

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 101

ISBN-13:

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The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate middle school mathematics teachers' perceptions of student self-efficacy and its influence on their instructional practices. Fifteen districts from the southeast and south central regions of Pennsylvania agreed to take part in the study. The researcher contacted seventh and eighth grade mathematics teachers from these districts requesting volunteers to complete a self-administered SurveyMonkey questionnaire. Fifty-seven teachers responded to the questionnaire with five of these teachers also participating in the phone interviews. The survey instruments explored the following areas of the construct from the teachers' perspective: 1) examples of student self-efficacy observed in the classroom, 2) the impact of self-efficacy on students' motivation to learn, 3) the selection of instructional practices informed by one's understandings of student self-efficacy, and 4) professional development dedicated to student self-efficacy. Teachers in this study observed student behaviors consistent with prior research. Students demonstrating low self-efficacy gave up easily when they did not experience success while individuals with positive efficacious beliefs showed perseverance in solving challenging tasks. Although the majority of respondents believed that teachers had a role in building students' perceptions of capability, nearly half of these teachers reported little to no formal training on the construct. Teachers emphasized the importance of scaffolding material in an effort to promote mastery experiences, yet perceived students to favor a performance orientation. The assertion disputed earlier studies claiming that teachers guided their students to achievement goals through their selection of instructional practices. Conflicting testimony surfaced as respondents also cited examples of teaching strategies reflecting a performance approach. The study recommends further analysis, including classroom observations and students' perspectives, to resolve some of the disparities that emerged.

Urban Middle School Teachers' Perceptions of Self-efficacy in Designing, Using, and Interpreting Common Formative Assessments
Urban Middle School Teachers' Perceptions of Self-efficacy in Designing, Using, and Interpreting Common Formative Assessments

Author: Brandy J. Bunnell

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9781267281319

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The purpose of this quantitative, exploratory study was to describe urban middle school content-teachers' reports of self-efficacy in designing, using, and interpreting standards-aligned common formative assessments in order to improve student learning. For the purposes of this study self-efficacy is not a general belief, but one related to specific tasks (Bandura, 1997). As such, the demands of specific tasks within a specified domain serve as the basis upon which judgments of capability are made. Data was also collected concerning experiences that teachers perceived as being most helpful in the development of their confidence regarding these practices. This study was conducted in four urban school districts in Connecticut. Middle school teachers of Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies were polled. The Sense of Efficacy: Common Formative Assessments Survey (Bunnell, 2010), a researcher-developed Internet-based survey, was completed by 64 teachers. Data analyses revealed that a simple majority of urban middle school teachers who participated reported moderately high levels of self-efficacy in the tasks associated with designing, using, and interpreting common formative assessments. Participants reported that they gained confidence from activities mainly associated with emotional arousal, vicarious experiences and enactive mastery experiences.

Response to Intervention (RtI) Self-efficacy Among Elementary and Middle School General Education Teachers
Response to Intervention (RtI) Self-efficacy Among Elementary and Middle School General Education Teachers

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Response to Intervention (RtI) integrates assessment and intervention within a school-wide, multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement. RtI requires that educators collect ongoing information about student progress and provide instruction that aligns with that progress. By providing rigorous interventions prior to students failing and by tracking them as they advance through the grades, students can have successful school careers. A majority of RtI research has been conducted in the elementary grades and while research in middle schools and high schools is emerging, few developments in effective implementations have been made. This study was conducted to address the gap in the educational literature concerning middle school implementation of RtI. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to better understand general middle school teachers' perceptions of RtI implementation by comparing middle school teacher perceptions to elementary school teacher perceptions using the mean scores on the five variables (i.e., universal design for learning, evidence-based literacy, collaboration, data driven decision-making, and implementation of interventions) of the Multi-Tiered Instruction Self-Efficacy Survey (MTISES). A causal-comparative design was used for this study. The statistical analysis of data, using the Mann-Whitney test, determined that no significant differences were found for 9 of the 10 pairwise tests calculated. Significances were only found for the implementation of interventions information variable. This significance indicates that middle school teachers have lower self-efficacy than elementary teachers in using print or web-based resources to implement interventions (such as those used in the Tier process) to small groups and individuals. Because teachers' self-efficacy beliefs are related to the effort teachers invest in teaching, the goals they set, and their persistence when things do not go smoothly, teachers would be less likely to use web-based resources to guide their implementation of intervention to small groups and individuals. Future research should include studies focusing on specific issues within the Tier process that middle school teachers find troublesome. While this research showed concern with intervention implementation, a more descriptive study would assist teacher educators and administrators in developing specific guidelines for implementing small group and individualized interventions in the middle school.

Change Leadership
Change Leadership

Author: Tony Wagner

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-06-28

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1118429516

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The Change Leadership Group at the Harvard School of Education has, through its work with educators, developed a thoughtful approach to the transformation of schools in the face of increasing demands for accountability. This book brings the work of the Change Leadership Group to a broader audience, providing a framework to analyze the work of school change and exercises that guide educators through the development of their practice as agents of change. It exemplifies a new and powerful approach to leadership in schools.

The Predictive Relationship of Middle School Teachers' Self-efficacy and Attitudes Toward Inclusion and the Reading Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities
The Predictive Relationship of Middle School Teachers' Self-efficacy and Attitudes Toward Inclusion and the Reading Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities

Author: Robyn Leontyne Davis

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13:

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The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative research study was to examine if a predictive relationship existed between general educators' perceived self-efficacy, attitudes toward inclusion, and the reading achievement of special needs students in an urban school district in the Midwestern United States. A convenience sample of 65 middle school reading teachers participated in the study. The theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy theory, and social cognitive theory provided a theoretical understanding of how inclusion affects the attitude and behaviors of teachers. Attitudes and beliefs affect behavior by determining what a middle school teacher does and does not do, thereby affecting what the student with a disability receives in the classroom. A simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses according to scores generated from the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) short form and the Scale of Teachers' Attitude Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The results of both simple linear regression analyses determined that neither the TSES nor the STATIC were found to be significant predictors of the change in Ohio Academic Achievement (OAA) reading test scores during the 2012-2013 school years. The results of this study added to the knowledge base of the field by examining the predictive relationship between teacher perceptions of their self-efficacy, attitudes, and regarding inclusion and the reading achievement of special education students that have been included in a general education classroom for reading instruction.

Perceptions of Teachers Regarding the Importance and Existence of Research-based Program Characteristics in Alternative High Schools and Teacher's Perceptions of Efficacy in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Perceptions of Teachers Regarding the Importance and Existence of Research-based Program Characteristics in Alternative High Schools and Teacher's Perceptions of Efficacy in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Author: Robert Craig Lowerre

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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The purpose of this research was to determine teachers' perceptions of the degree to which research-based characteristics exist in alternative high schools and programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the importance of these characteristics to effective education. In addition, this research investigated whether or not these perceptions were related to the teachers' perception of efficacy. These seven characteristics were (a) clearly identified enrollment criteria, (b) low ratio of student to teachers, (c) one-to-one interactions between staff and students, (d) social skills instruction, (e) effective academic instruction, (f) parental involvement and parental support programs, and (g) specific training for teachers who are working with at-risk youth. Alternative school teachers were also administered the short form of the Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale that is specifically designed to assess the respondents' perceptions of their self-efficacy as teachers. The data show that alternative school teachers in Virginia ranked "low student to staff ratio" as the most important and "parental involvement and parental support programs" as the least important research-based characteristics for the academic focus of their schools. It was also evidenced by the data that none of the research-based characteristics were shown to have "strong evidence" of existence in Virginia's alternative schools and programs. Finally, the data showed that there is a positive correlation between the existence of the research-based characteristics and the reported self-efficacy of the alternative school teachers.

Middle School Classroom Teacher Perceptions of the Impact of Formative Assessments on the Needs of At-risk Students
Middle School Classroom Teacher Perceptions of the Impact of Formative Assessments on the Needs of At-risk Students

Author: Gaye Walk

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13:

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The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of middle school classroom teachers regarding the impact of formative assessments on the needs of at-risk students. A phenomenological approach was used to gain understanding of how the teacher works with at-risk students and how the steps of formative assessments meets the needs of at-risk students. The theory framing this study was Albert Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive theory and the self-efficacy belief system. Data collection took place with 12 middle school teachers and included a questionnaire, individual interviews, and a focus group. The study was guided by three research questions. First, how do middle school teachers perceive the steps of formative assessment? Second, what are the middle school teacher’s perceptions of the formative assessment theory and its practices? Third, how do middle school teachers perceive the impact of formative assessment on the needs of the at-risk student? Data analysis methods followed Moustakas’ (1994) model of transcendental phenomenology. Trustworthiness was verified through triangulation of data, member checking, and peer checking. Each participant’s identity was kept confidential using pseudonyms and by keeping the location of the study confidential to protect their privacy.

Teacher Perceptions of Performance Evaluation and Teacher Self Efficacy in Illinois Public Elementary and Middle Schools
Teacher Perceptions of Performance Evaluation and Teacher Self Efficacy in Illinois Public Elementary and Middle Schools

Author: Amy Marks

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 9781369537741

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This quantitative dissertation explored the association between teacher self-efficacy and teacher perceptions of the Illinois teacher performance evaluation process. It also examined how the teacher evaluation system's procedures, the evaluative feedback received by the teacher, and the context of the evaluation process related to teacher self-efficacy in the areas of student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. Teachers from two different Illinois suburban public elementary school districts were surveyed. One school district employed the Charlotte Danielson Model and the other a more traditional evaluation model. The study results showed teachers who reported using a high quality teacher evaluation process also reported greater levels of self-efficacy. An association was not found among teacher perceptions of the evaluation system's procedures, evaluative feedback received, the context of the evaluation and self-efficacy in student engagement. An association was found between perceptions of the evaluation procedures and a teacher's reported self-efficacy in instructional strategies. A similar association was not found between the quality of evaluative feedback and teacher perceptions of self-efficacy in instructional strategies. Also, no associations were found among teacher perceptions of the evaluation system's procedures, evaluative feedback received, the context of the evaluation and self-efficacy in classroom management. The first exploratory research question found the type of performance evaluation tool used in the district does not impact teacher perceptions of self-efficacy. The second exploratory research question found significant differences in teacher perceptions of various aspects of performance evaluations depending upon whether a teacher is evaluated using the Danielson Framework or not. Specifically, teachers evaluated with the Danielson Framework have better perceptions of their own personal attributes, evaluation procedures, the quality of feedback received, and the context of the evaluation. This study showed teachers in school districts that implemented the Danielson Model perceived the evaluation procedures, the quality of feedback received, and the context of the evaluation more positively than teachers in school districts that were not utilizing the Danielson Model. Teachers who reported using a high quality teacher evaluation process also reported greater levels of self-efficacy. This was significant because it suggested the quality of the teacher evaluation process quality might be linked to teacher self-efficacy.