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Preservice teacher efficacy: cross-national study.

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Abstract

This cross-national study assessed the relationship between two groups (i.e., US and Turkey) of matched preservice teachers regarding their perceptions of self-efficacy toward teaching students with learning disabilities and their perceptions regarding personal efficacy and general teaching efficacy, as measured by the Teacher Efficacy Scale. All possible subsets regression analyses indicated a model for each preservice teacher group pertaining to their perceptions of self-efficacy toward teaching students with learning disabilities and their perceptions regarding personal teaching efficacy.

Research in the area of cross-national comparisons of preservice and inservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs validates their importance as a mediating factor influencing instructional decisions (Clark & Artiles, 2000) and accommodating students with learning and behavioral problems in the context of classroom practice (Haynes, Hook, & Macaruso, 2000). Haynes et al. (2000) compared the perceptions of elementary teachers in the United States (US) and Japan regarding the strengths and weaknesses of students according to criteria used for identifying students with learning disabilities (LD) in the US. Results indicated a similar pattern across the two groups regarding teachers' perceptions of student ability in the areas of reasoning and mathematics. Significant between-group differences occurred in the areas of listening, speaking, reading/writing, and social and study skills. In another cross-national study conducted by Clark and Artiles (2000), significant differences were found in attributional responses between US (n = 97) and Guatemalan (n = 59) teachers regarding their perceptions of (a) student ability (high vs. low), (b) students' degree of expended effort (high vs. low), and (c) students' categorical label (LD vs. non-LD) when presented with vignettes depicting a student as having failed a typical classroom test.

Other cross-national research assessing preservice teachers' beliefs about mathematics indicates that the context for teacher preparation (i.e., teacher education programs) can both facilitate and constrain preservice teachers' self-efficacy (Wagner, Lee, & Azgun-Koca, 1999). In a recent study undertaken by Wagner et al. (1999), preservice teachers (n = 106) from the US, Turkey, and Korea completed a questionnaire designed to measure their beliefs about teaching mathematics and about the efficacy of their teacher preparation program. The US preservice teachers' responses indicated a stronger degree of self-confidence regarding their ability to teach mathematics than did the Turkish and Korean preservice teachers. In addition, the responses of the Korean preservice teachers indicated that they were the least confident among the three groups regarding their ability to teach mathematics. Analysis of preservice teachers' responses regarding the efficacy of their teacher training programs indicated that the US preservice teachers believed their teacher education program provided adequate preparation for the teaching of mathematics. In contrast, the Turkish and Korean preservice teachers...

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