Teacher efficacy: Toward the understanding of a multi-faceted construct

Abstract

To explore dimensions of teacher efficacy, the responses of 310 teachers to a modified version of the Gibson & Dembo (1984) [Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 569–582], scale were factor analyzed, yielding three factors. Personal efficacy concerned teachers' beliefs about their ability to perform specific behaviors. Outcome efficacy referred to teachers belief that student outcomes were attributable to their actions. We believe these two factors represent the efficacy expectations and outcome expectations of Bandura's model of self-efficacy. The third factor, teaching efficacy, concerned teachers' beliefs about the influence of external factors, including the home, heredity and television violence, on the impact of teaching.