Perceptions of the Teaching Roles and Selected Back ground Characteristics

The central concerns of this study were two-fold: to investigate what relationships exist among patterns of teachers’ sense of efficacy, self -perception of the teaching roles and selected background characteristics; and examine me an score differences between male and female teachers in terms of the variable compa red. Eighty-six teachers were selected using stratified random sampling. Scale qu estionnaire was used as data collection instrument. Pearson Correlation Coeffici ent, multiple regression and two samples t-test were employed for data analysis. Ste pwise regression analysis demonstrated that teachers’ integration role predic ted teachers’ sense of efficacy. T-test revealed that female teachers scored higher mean sc ore in personal teaching efficacy and time investment of the teaching role. Bu,t no m ean score differences were observed on the other pattern of sense of efficacy and selfperception of teaching roles observed. Co relational analysis indicated that there was sig nificant relationship between sex and time investment in teaching, teachers’ competence a nd time investment in teaching, and teachers’ sense of efficacy and time investment in eaching. Moreover, the two patterns of teachers’ sense of efficacy, personal and genera l efficacy were inversely related and were found to be quite distinct measures. The two p atterns of teachers’ sense of efficacy also related differently to perceptions of the teac hing roles and background characteristics. In conclusion, since teachers' sen s of efficacy is related to students achievement gains, it is important to determine how teachers who posses different levels of efficacy behave in the classroom. Such data may help explain why some teachers are able to produce better student learning than other t achers. It was recommended that male teachers need to develop their efficacy by int er alizing their judgments about their capability as demanded by the profession. Moreover, male teachers should spend more time in reading to widen their knowledge stipulated by the teaching business and get prepared to gain pleasure out of the lessons they i mpart. ________________________________________________________________ * Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Ba hir Dar University, Bahir Dar E-mail: amsalomi1979@yahoo.com P.O. Box 124 Ethiop. J. Educ. & Sc. Vol. 9 No 1 September 201 3 62 INTRODUCTION Teachers' sense of efficacy has been identified as a variable accounting for individual differences in teaching effectiveness, particularly in terms of student achievement. Teacher efficacy denotes teachers' confidence in their own ability to handle things in their classrooms. Ashton (1984) contended that teachers' self-efficacy is related to students' achievement and proposed that this variable be used as a framework for teacher education programs. He also extended his view that when teachers have stronger self-efficacy, they are more likely to have the confidence to take risks and to experiment, thus are more likely to improve. He also found that highly efficacious teachers were more positive and more willing to try new ideas. Similarly Good (1981) revealed that effective teachers expect their students to learn and believe that they are capable of helping them learn. According to Bandura (1997), the task of creating learning environments conducive to development of cognitive competencies rests heavily on the talents and self-efficacy of teachers. He also indicated that teachers' beliefs in their instructional efficacy partly determine how they structure academic activities in their classrooms and shape students' evaluation of their intellectual capabilities. Teachers' sense of efficacy refers to teachers' beliefs concerning their capabilities to help students learn (Ashton and Webb, 1986). Teachers' belief in his or her ability to affect student performance (Green Wood. Olejnik & Parkay, 1990); is an important factor in predicting students achievement and sense of competence (Parkay, Green Wood, Oleinik & Proller, 1988). Teachers' evaluation of their capabilities to bring about positive student change (Gibson & Dembo, 1984); is a belief that teachers can help even the most difficult or unmotivated students (Woolfolk & HOY, 1990). Teachers' confidence in their own ability to handle things in their class rooms (Sparks, 1988) is important componenet. Ashton and Webb (1986), and Ashton (1985) found that teachers with higher selfefficacy were more likely to have a positive classroom environment, support students' ideas and meet the needs of students in the class. Higher teacher efficacy was positively associated with teachers’ use of praise, individual attention to the students and frequent checking on students' progress in learning. Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) reported that efficacy was powerfully related to numerous educational outcomes including effective student engagement, instructional strategies and classroom management. They found that researchers consistently experienced persistent measurement problems that plagued their efforts to study teacher efficacy. The construct was determined to be more context-specific. Ashton’s (1984) finding showed that teachers' efficacy related positively to students’ achievement and proposed this variable be used as a framework for teacher education programs. Woolfolk & Hoy (1990) maintained that teachers’ beliefs in their efficacy affect their general orientation toward the educational process as well as their specific instructional activities. Those who have a l w sense of instructional efficacy follow a custodial orientation that takes a pessimistic view of students' motivation, emphasize control of classroom behavior through strict regulations, and rely on extrinsic inducements and negative sanctions to get students to study. Bandura (1977) suggests that motivation is influenced by both outcome expectations (i.e., judgments about the quensequences of specific behavior in a particular situation) Relationships among teachers sense Amare Sahil e 63 and efficacy expectations (i.e. the individual’s belief that he or she is capable of achieving a certain level of performance in that situation). Moreover, outcome and efficacy expectations are interrelated. Bandura notes that the types of outcomes individuals anticipate depend largely on their judgments of how well they perform in given situations. Based on Bandura's assertion, Gibson & Dembo (1984) clarified that teachers who believe student learning can be influenced by effective teaching, and who also have confidence in their own teaching abilities, should persist longer, provide a greater academic focus in the classroom, and show different types of feedback than teachers who have lower expectations concerning their ability to influence student learning. Ashton & Webb (1986) Argued that teachers’ classroom behavior is best predicted by general personal efficacy and teaching efficacy acting together. In line with Bandura, Ashton and Webb, Gibson & Dembo (1984) proposed a teacher-efficacy scale that yield two independent factors: general teaching efficacy-the belief that any teacher's ability to bring about change is constrained by external factors such as student home environment, family background or a student's intelligence and personal teaching efficacy-an evaluation of one's personal ability to influence student learning. As to how these types of efficacy influence teachers’ performance (Dembo & Gibson, 1985) stressed that a teacher's sense of competence and self-esteem will be secured when faced with frustrations of low achieving students. If he or she believes that forces outside of her control determine students’ achievement then one suffers less loss of self-esteem by believing that there is not much any teacher can do. If a teacher has a low sense of general teaching efficacy, poor student performance can produce dissatisfactions, because that teacher believes that all teachers are unable to produce positive results with some students. But, for the teacher with a low personal sense of teaching efficacy, the stress and dissatisfaction with poor student performance would likely be much greater (Dembo & Gibson, 1985). Individuals who believe that teaching is a potentially powerful factor in students' learning may believe either that they are effective or that they lack the ability to make a difference in their own students. On the other hand teachers may believe that teaching in general can have little impact on students and that they are or are not exceptions to these rules (Woolfalk Hoy, 1990; Baudura, 1997). A study conducted by Brophy & Everston (1977) indicted that teachers who were successful in producing student learning gains tended to have higher expectations and assumed personal responsibility for making sure that students learned. Teachers' efficacy ought to influence teaching behavior: choice of activities, effort expanded and persistence are useful to explain the behavior of teachers (Schunk, 1989). It is argued that teachers' belief in their abilities to instruct students may account for individual differences in effectiveness. Beliefs evolve as individuals are exposed to the ideas and mores of teachers and significant others. They are acquired and fostered through schooling or the informational observation of others and they are usually persisting, unmodified, unless intentionally or explicitly challenged (Gibson & Dembo, 1984). A significant difference between school levels and teacher efficacy was observed by Parkey et al., (1988) who reported that elementary school teachers expressed greater responsibility for student success Ethiop. J. Educ. & Sc. Vol. 9 No 1 September 201 3 64 than either junior or high school teachers. The elementary teachers compared with either the middle school teachers or the high school teachers also expressed a great sense of efficacy. Bandura (1989); Darling-Hammond (1990) & Parvin (1989), as cited by Cole and Cha