Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Kimberley F. Alkins

Abstract

AbstractTeacher self-efficacy is positively related to student achievement; however, the impact of specific training protocols to increase teachers' self-efficacy were unknown. The research purpose was to clarify the effect of a professional development training on elementary school teacher self-efficacy to promote better instruction. Guided by social cognitive theory, the quantitative purpose of this embedded mixed-method study related to the first research question, that investigated the difference between elementary school teachers’ perceived self-efficacy before and after attending a professional development training that was designed to improve teacher self-efficacy. Qualitatively, the study sought to unpack instructional themes that the teacher participants intended to use to operationalize their self-efficacy after the training. Using a convenience sample of volunteer participant teachers from five schools in a single urban district, the Teacher Self Efficacy Scale (TSES) was administered to 14 elementary teachers in a pre-test, post-test design. A Wilcoxon signed-ranked test demonstrated statistically significant gains on the 3 TSES subscales, as well as on total TSES (z = 2.73, p = .006). From this group, 8 teachers were purposefully selected based on teaching experience of at least 5 years and current employment in a Title I school to respond to semistructured, open-ended interview questions adapted from the TSES. The four themes that emerged to explain the predominant strategies the teachers planned to use to operationalize their self-efficacy in the classroom were assessment, learning styles, motivation, and engaging instruction. These findings contribute to positive social change by providing evidence of the benefits of professional development of teacher self-efficacy to promote better instruction.

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