Date of Award
Fall 2012
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)
Department
Teacher Leadership for Learning
First Advisor
Dr. Angela Blaver
Second Advisor
Dr. Wendy Sanchez
Third Advisor
Dr. Mary Garner
Abstract
Self-efficacy is a key piece of Bandura’s (1984) social cognitive theory and has been shown in previous studies to be a strong predictor of student achievement, motivation, collaboration, and teacher leadership. Teacher efficacy, in particular, is the belief a teacher holds about the capability to reach all students in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000) and the Mathematics Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Inventory (Enochs, 2001) using both Classical Test Theory and Rasch Measurement analyses. Secondly, the study sought to compare the efficacy levels of elementary, middle, and high school teachers (N= 263). The findings of the current examination indicated that the scales utilized were reliable through both Classical Test Theory and Rasch measurement. The Rasch analysis also showed that both scales contained items that were too easy for experienced teachers to answer and did not distinguish well between those that had high and low efficacy. In addition, the findings indicated a significant difference in efficacy levels between elementary teachers and the middle and high school teachers, with the elementary teachers reporting a higher level of teacher efficacy. The findings suggest that further research is needed, given the current reform efforts in mathematics education, both in developing more refined teacher efficacy measurement instruments and investigating the reasons for the differences in efficacy levels.