The Effect of Novice English Language Teachers Selfefficacy and Academic Degree on Students Achievement

Transcription

1 The Effect of Novice English Language Teachers Selfefficacy and Academic Degree on Students Achievement MA thesis submitted to the English Language Department in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Department of English Language Teaching, faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University By: Shahab Moradkhani Supervisor: Dr. Akbari Advisor: Dr. Ghafar Samar March, 2009

2 Dedicated to my parents who have been my best teachers

3 Acknowledgement It is my pleasure to express my gratitude to everyone who contributed to the realization of this thesis. First and foremost, I would like to extend my appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Akbari, without whose guidance, instruction, and support, this project would not have been possible. I also wish to thank Dr. Ghafar Samar, my advisor, whose meticulous review of the manuscript contributed a lot to the improvement of the work. I should also express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Kiani who taught me the basics of research and whose insightful comments enriched the final draft of the thesis. In addition, I am grateful to Dr. Abdollahzadeh, the external reader, who did not begrudge his informative feedback on the manuscript. Finally, I am thankful to all the teachers in Safir English language academy who agreed to participate in this study.

4 Abstract Teacher efficacy may be defined as teachers beliefs in their abilities to improve student achievement. It has been found to influence different aspects of teachers behaviors. On the other hand, research shows that teachers academic degree is a factor which may affect their competence as well as performance and, consequently, result in better achievement on the part of their students. As a result, the present study tried to address the following questions: a) Is there any significant difference among novice English teachers with different academic degrees with respect to their selfefficacy scores? (b) Is there any relationship between novice English language teachers degree level and language learners achievement? (c) Is there any relationship between novice English language teachers self-efficacy and language learners achievement? (d) Is there any interaction between novice English language teachers self-efficacy and degree level to enhance language learners achievement? 103 novice English teachers participated in the study. The results of the data analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the self-efficacy of teachers with different academic degrees. In contrast, the interaction between teachers efficacy and their academic degree were found to have a significant relationship with language learners achievement. It seems that as MA teachers sense of efficacy increases, their students achievement improves consequently. So, it might be said that self-efficacy is a psychological construct that gains prominence as teachers get higher degrees in English related majors. Key words: teacher self-efficacy, teachers academic degree, student achievement

5 Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction Introduction Statement of the problem Significance of the study Research questions Research null hypotheses Definition of key terms Limitations of the study Delimitations of the study...7 Chapter Two: Review of the Literature Overview Theoretical background of self-efficacy Definition of self-efficacy Origins of self-efficacy Rotter s social learning theory Bandura s social cognitive theory Sources of self-efficacy Enactive/mastery experience Vicarious experience Social persuasion Physiological and emotional states Teacher self-efficacy Definition of teacher self-efficacy Models of teacher self-efficacy Tschannen-Moran et al. s (1998) model Classroom School Context (CSC) model Antecedents of teacher self-efficacy Teachers age Teachers gender Subject matter being taught Level of teaching...19 I

6 Teacher s background characteristics Students characteristics Peer coaching Teacher s experience Teacher s academic degree Contextual factors Consequences of teacher self-efficacy Teacher s job satisfaction Teacher commitment Teacher burnout Teacher practices Student achievement Teachers academic degree Student achievement...35 Chapter Three: Methodology Overview Problem restatement Research questions reexamined Participants Instrument The questionnaire Student information table (SIT) Data collection Data analysis...44 Chapter Four: Results Overview Descriptive statistics Reliability Normality of distribution The first research question Other research questions...53 II

7 Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusion Overview Discussion The first null hypothesis Discussion of the results The second and third null hypotheses Discussion of the results The fourth null hypothesis Discussion of the results Conclusion Pedagogical implications Suggestions for further research...67 References...69 Appendix Ι...80 Appendix П...84 III

8 List of tables Table 3.1 Descriptive statistics of the sample Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics for thee subcomponents of teacher efficacy as well as the global teacher efficacy Table 4.2 Kolmogorov-Smirnov test of normal distribution Table 4.3 The difference between the global efficacy of teachers with different academic degrees Table 4.4 The difference between the efficacy for student engagement of teachers with different academic degrees Table 4.5 The difference between the efficacy for classroom management of teachers with different academic degrees Table 4.6 The difference between the efficacy for instructional strategies of teachers with different academic degrees Table 4.7 Band score and number of teachers in three different efficacy levels Table 4.8 The relationship between teachers academic degree and global sense of efficacy and their students achievement IV

9 List of figures Figure 2.1 Triadic reciprocal causation Figure 2.2 The CSC model developed Figure 4.1 The interaction between teachers academic degree and sense of efficacy V

10 Chapter One Introduction 1

11 1.1. Introduction Possessing the knowledge to perform an action is a necessary but not a sufficient requirement for successful completion of the action. To be able to perform effectively, one also needs to judge himself or herself as a person who can mobilize this knowledge to perform the action successfully (Raudenbush, Rowan, & Cheong, 1992). Therefore, gaining success in doing an action requires not only knowledge of the procedure for conducting the action, but also belief in one s capabilities to transform that knowledge into behavior. Beliefs are instrumental in defining tasks and selecting the cognitive tools with which to interpret, plan, and make decisions regarding such tasks; hence, they play a critical role in defining behavior and organizing knowledge and information (Pajares, 1992, p.325). And, since selfefficacy is a kind of belief, it follows this general rule; its effects can be traced in different aspects of life including family systems, intellectual development, career development, and health condition (Bandura, 1995). The strength of self-efficacy beliefs is crucial in overcoming the obstacles in life because it determines our mental as well as physical power while facing the problems. So, a resilient sense of efficacy is needed to surmount the impediments and setbacks that characterize difficult undertakings (ibid, p.12). People differ from each other in the strength of self-efficacy they enjoy. Consequently, the amount of effort they expend in various aspects of life and the degree of resilience they have in confronting adverse situations is directly influenced by this strength (Bandura, 1982). In other words, the higher the sense of efficacy, the greater the effort, persistence, and resilience (Pajares, 1996, p.544). As was mentioned above, perceptions of self-efficacy affect our performance in almost all aspects of life. Academic situation is by no means an exception. In this situation, most of the activities might be considered as investments for future gains. Some of these prospective achievements cannot be obtained within a short period of time. Therefore, they need persistent effort on the part of those engaged in academic settings. And, these efforts are, both directly and indirectly, affected by individuals sense of efficacy. 2

12 When it comes to the academic situation, three ways can be considered through which perceptions of self-efficacy contribute to academic development: students beliefs in their efficacy to regulate their own learning and to master different subject matters, individual teachers beliefs in their efficacy to motivate and promote learning in their students[,] and staffs collective sense of efficacy that their schools can accomplish significant academic progress. (Bandura, 1993, p.135) Among these three kinds of academic self-efficacy, teachers sense of efficacy, which is going to be the focus of the present study, is a little idea with big impact (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2002, p.7). No one can deny the fact that teachers constitute one of the most outstanding rings in the educational chain. Their personality, competence, and performance have immediate impact on students behavior as well as learning. A qualified teacher can motivate even the most reluctant students, while a poor one may make all the students indifferent to studying. So, paying attention to the ways through which their practices can be improved is worth considering. But, whatever they do reflects teachers beliefs among which selfefficacy is a crucial one, since it could affect different aspects of a teacher s thought, decision making, and behavior (Cruz & Arias, 2007, p. 642). Another important factor which may contribute to teachers knowledge and behavior and, consequently, to students progress is their academic certification (Santibaňez, 2006; Kulkla-Acevedo, in press). Nowadays, teachers are required to have formal preparation programs as one of their primary qualifications for teaching. These programs differ in length and level. Some of them prepare individuals for teaching at elementary level, while others are necessary if they want to teach in higher levels. However, in the realm of language teaching, this general rule has a myriad number of exceptions. When a person intends to teach in a language school, his/her proficiency in speaking is usually much more important than any other factor in deciding about his/her recruitment. Though the significance of this factor cannot be ignored, it has received too much attention at the cost of neglecting other factors, one of which is teachers academic degree. Little is asked from the applicant about his/her 3

13 qualification in language teaching. In such a condition, one may ask: Is it really important to have an academic degree in language teaching if you are going to be a language teacher? Answering this question constructs another area of focus in the present study Statement of the problem Not many studies have tried to find the direct impact of teacher efficacy on students achievement. Even in those pieces of research devoted to documenting this effect (e.g., Caprara, Barbaranelli, Steca, & Malone, 2006) the participants have been chosen from different fields of study which implies that the situation is worse when it comes to the context of English Language Teaching (ELT). The condition becomes more demanding when another variable (i.e., degree) is going to be considered. Previous research has shown that the relevance of subject matter can be an important factor in determining the level of teacher efficacy (e.g., Goker, 2006). Also, review of the literature reveals the influence of degree level within the same subject matter on teacher efficacy (e.g., Campbell, 1996). But, apparently it does not affect student performance, at least directly (e.g., Xin, Xu, & Tatsouka, 2004). Regarding the ELT context, no published study has tried to find whether teachers with higher academic degrees have higher self-efficacy and better students considering their achievement. Therefore, the unanswered questions are: a) Do teachers who have a higher English related degree benefit from a higher sense of efficacy? b) Is teachers degree a crucial determinant for student achievement? 1.3. Significance of the study Perhaps one of the most important goals of education is training individuals who are well prepared to handle future responsibilities. In this regard, students scores can be viewed as the most reliable source for determining their degree of progress. In other words, the higher scores they get in their exams, the more knowledgeable they are 4

14 supposed to be. In enhancing students achievement, teachers role is a crucial factor that cannot be neglected. As we always see, students perform better when they are taught by a certain teacher. But, what are the characteristics of such a teacher? Certainly, the beliefs teachers hold influence their perceptions and judgment, which, in turn, affect their behavior in the classroom (Pajares, 1992, p.307). Teacher efficacy can be considered as one of them. If it is proven that high efficacious teachers are able to transfer knowledge better and, as a consequence, to improve students attainment, the next step may be finding ways to increase their efficacy to have better achievements on the part of the students. In addition, teachers degree is their second characteristic which may make a difference in students achievement. Annually, the government spends a large amount of resources in university courses at the end of which some degrees are given to the graduates. These degrees are signs of individuals qualifications in a specific area. However, when it comes to the English teaching profession, academic degree has little impact on recruiting teachers. Consequently, English teachers are found to have both related and non-related degrees. So, it might be a good idea to see whether teachers who have related English degrees prepare students with better achievements. Finding the effect of teacher efficacy and their degree on students achievement can help teacher educators to design better teacher education programs. Additionally, administrators and school principals can use the findings as a starting point to implement ways to enhance teacher efficacy. Even teachers themselves can use these findings to improve their practices in the classroom Research questions 1) Is there any significant difference among novice English teachers with different academic degrees (i.e., BA in English, MA in English, and non-english) with respect to their self-efficacy scores? 2) Is there any relationship between novice English language teachers degree level and language learners achievement? 5

15 3) Is there any relationship between novice English language teachers self-efficacy and language learners achievement? 4) Is there any interaction between novice English language teachers self-efficacy and degree level to enhance language learners achievement? 1.5. Research null hypotheses 1) There is no significant difference among novice English teachers with different academic degrees with respect to their self-efficacy scores. 2) There is no relationship between novice English language teachers degree and language learners achievement. 3) There is no relationship between novice English language teachers self-efficacy and language learners achievement. 4) There is no interaction between novice English language teachers self-efficacy and degree level to enhance language learners achievement Definition of key terms Teacher self-efficacy: Chacón (2005) defines teacher s sense of self-efficacy as English teachers judgments on their capabilities to bring about student change even in those difficult or unmotivated students (p.258). Novice/experienced teachers: In the literature, there is no agreed upon cut-off point for dividing novice and experienced teachers. In this study, following Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2007), we considered those English teachers who had less than three years of teaching experience to be novice Limitations of the study Some limitations must be taken into account when interpreting the findings of this study: 6

16 1. The proficiency of English teachers who participated in this study was not controlled. It might have affected their sense of efficacy. Therefore, the results might have been influenced by the role of this factor as an intervening variable. 2. There were just nineteen MA holders who participated in the study. Therefore, one should be cautious in interpreting the results of the parametric tests which are sensitive to the number of participants. These tests might have been negatively affected by the small number of participants in this group. 3. To be able to trace the achievement of each teacher s students, the participants were requested to write their names on the efficacy questionnaires. This might have influenced the answers they provided for each item since efficacy is a personal attribute and asking teachers to write their names might have made them do not reveal their true beliefs Delimitations of the study There were also some delimitations in this study which should make the reader cautious about generalizing the findings to other situations: 1. To be able to control the intervening role of contextual factors in shaping teachers sense of efficacy, all the participants were selected from a single language institute. As a result, the findings might not hold true for other institutes or other contexts. 2. In order to control the effect of teaching experience on teachers sense of efficacy, only novice teachers, who had less than three years of teaching experience, participated in this study. So, the findings cannot be generalized to experienced teachers. 7

17 Chapter Two Review of the Literature 8

18 2.1. Overview This chapter aims at offering an analysis of the literature related to teachers selfefficacy, their academic degree, and students achievement. In so doing, first, the notion of self-efficacy and its origins and sources are briefly addressed. Then, teacher self-efficacy is dealt with by presenting two proposed models. Also, its antecedents and consequences are investigated. After that, the effect of teachers academic degree on student outcome will be reviewed. In the final section, teacher-related factors which may have an impact on students achievement are addressed Theoretical background of self-efficacy Many studies have been done regarding self-efficacy and its relationship with other constructs. But, it seems inappropriate to move to them without considering the nature of self-efficacy itself. So, a clear definition of self-efficacy seems to be a suitable springboard to begin with Definition of self-efficacy Almost all scholars believe that self-efficacy is related to an individual s performance in the future (e.g. Bandura, 1982). More accurately, it is a future-oriented belief (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001, p.787) that has to do with perceptions of competence rather than actual level of competence (Hoy & Spero, 2005, p.344). In the words of Bandura (1995), [p]erceived self-efficacy refers to beliefs in one s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations. Efficacy beliefs influence how people think, feel, motivate themselves, and act (p.2). So, a person s self-efficacy belief in doing a special task does not necessarily reflect his/her actual ability, but shows his/her perception of it. He/she may underestimate or overestimate his/her real ability. 9

19 Self-efficacy beliefs can differ from one person to another or even within the same individual in various situations. This difference can be manifested in three areas: strength, level, and generality. Strength is the intensity of a person s belief in their ability to do a certain task (Dellinger, Bobbett, Olivier, & Ellett, in press, p.4). Level refers to a person s perception of the difficulty of a task. And, generality is the degree to which efficacy beliefs about one task may generalize across a range of similar activities in the same or other domains of functioning (ibid, p.4). The differences in strength, level, and generality result in people with different degrees of efficacy beliefs which, in turn, affect their actions. As Bandura (1993) says, [p]eople with high efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges to be mastered rather than as threats to be avoided. Such an efficacious outlook fosters interest and deep engrossment in activities. They set themselves challenging goals and maintain strong commitment to them. They maintain a task-diagnostic focus that guides effective performance. They heighten and sustain their efforts in the face of failure. They attribute failure to insufficient effort or deficient knowledge and skills that are acquirable. They quickly recover their sense of efficacy after failure or setbacks. They approach the threatening situations with assurance that they can exercise control over them. Such an efficacious outlook produces personal accomplishment, reduces stress, and lowers vulnerability to depression. (pp ) By analogy, one can infer the characteristics of low efficacy people. They always fear from difficult encounters and are reluctant to face them. They are easily disappointed as a result of failures and attribute them to their own personal shortcomings which cannot be eradicated. Such people think that they have little control over their environment. They are always stressful and cannot resist depressive situations Origins of self-efficacy Self-efficacy is a psychological construct. Therefore, psychology is the best place to look for its origins. Review of the literature reveals that two theoretical backgrounds were influential in its development; Rotter s (1966) social learning theory, and Bandura s (1977) social cognitive theory. 10

20 Rotter s social learning theory First studies of efficacy were inspired by Rotter s (1966) article (as cited in Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, & Hoy, 1998). In this piece of work, he presents a theoretical framework named social learning theory. All in all, it is about how individuals can learn through interaction with the environment. But, what gave this theory a prominence in fostering the concept of self-efficacy was the notion of internal/external locus of control. It refers to the causes that people attribute to their actions; some believe that the environment has a greater role in affecting what they do (i.e. external locus of control), while others think that they, themselves, are more responsible than any other factor for their actions. By extension, considering the educational setting in mind, teachers who believe that they are able to teach unmotivated students have internal control, but those who think that the environment has a greater influence on student learning are more externally oriented (Brouwers & Tomic, 2003) Bandura s social cognitive theory Although Rotter s (1966) locus of control paved the way for its creation, it was Albert Bandura (1977) who coined the term self-efficacy. Bandura suggested that social cognitive theory is the key for human behavior. It is based on a model of causation which is called triadic reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1989). In this model, human agency is supposed to be an interactive one. In other words, behavior, internal personal factors (i.e. cognitive, affective, and biological factors), and the external environment interact with each other. More precisely, [r]eciprocal causation is a multidirectional model (Henson, 2001, p.3) in which personal factors and environment influence behaviours, while the environment is impacted by behaviours and personal factors, and personal factors are impacted by behaviours and environment (Dellinger et al., in press, p.2). 11