RESEARCH PAPER
Mathematics teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and its relationship with teaching practices
More details
Hide details
1
School of Further and Continuing Education, University of Fort Hare, Alice, Eastern Cape, SOUTH AFRICA
Publication date: 2024-01-16
EURASIA J. Math., Sci Tech. Ed 2024;20(1):em2392
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Given that teachers’ self-efficacy belief is correlated with students’ performance and positive
behavior in terms of teaching, the present study examined the teaching practices of mathematics
teachers and their self-efficacy beliefs with regard to some variables (gender, educational
background, teaching phase, and school type). This study is underpinned by a positivist paradigm
and a quantitative research approach. The researchers employed a survey research design. The
population for this study is made up of all mathematics teachers in schools located in the Eastern
Cape Province, South Africa from which a total of 266 mathematics teachers teaching in senior
phase, further education and training phase, and intermediate phase were randomly sampled. In
order to collect data, teachers teaching practice self-efficacy scale, which consisted of 23 items
and four dimensions was employed. One-way analysis of variance, independent samples t-test,
and arithmetic mean were conducted in analyzing the collected data. Despite having a high
degree of confidence in their instructional strategies, teachers’ low self-efficacy beliefs were found
to be influenced by the kind of schools, where they were teaching and their level of education.
Based on these findings, it was recommended that relevant stakeholders in the education sector
should make schools conducive to learning through the provision of required instructional
materials that supports the teaching and learning of mathematics.
REFERENCES (44)
1.
Akbulut, O. E., & Karakus, F. (2011). The investigation of secondary school science and mathematics pre-service teachers attitudes towards teaching profession. Educational Research and Reviews, 6(6), 489-496.
2.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.
3.
Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (pp. 71-81). Academic Press.
4.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.
5.
Bandura, A., & Adams, N. (1997). Analysis of self-efficacy theory of behavior change. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1(4), 287-310.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF0166....
6.
Budiarti, R. S., Kurniawan, D. A., Septi, S. E., & Perdana, R. (2022). Differences and relationship between attitudes and self-efficacy of female and male students in science subjects in junior high school. Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Indonesia [Indonesian Journal of Science Education], 10(1), 73-88.
https://doi.org/10.24815/jpsi.....
7.
Clark, S., & Newberry, M. (2019). Are we building preservice teacher self-efficacy? A large-scale study examining teacher education experiences. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 47(1), 32-47.
https://doi.org/10.1080/135986....
8.
Cobanoglu, R., Capa-Aydin, Y., & Yildirim, A. (2019). Sources of teacher beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice: A structural equation model of the role of teacher efficacy beliefs. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 27(2), 195-207.
https://doi.org/10.1080/135029....
9.
Connor, C. M., Son, S. H., Hindman, A. H., & Morrison, F. J. (2005). Teacher qualifications, classroom practices, family characteristics, and preschool experience: Complex effects on first graders’ vocabulary and early reading outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 43(4), 343-375.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.....
10.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Youngs, P. (2002). Defining “highly qualified teachers”: What does “scientifically-based research” actually tell us? Educational Researcher, 31(9), 13-25.
https://doi.org/10.3102/001318....
11.
Dede, Y. (2008). Matematik öğretmenlerinin öğretimlerine yönelik öz-yeterlik inançları [Mathematics teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding their teaching]. Journal of Turkish Educational Sciences, 6(4), 741-757.
12.
Fives, H., & Buehl, M. M. (2010). Examining the factor structure of the teachers’ sense of efficacy scale. Journal of Experimental Education, 78(1), 118-134.
https://doi.org/10.1080/002209....
13.
Gao, J. (2020). Sources of mathematics self-efficacy in Chinese students: A mixed-method study with Q-sorting procedure. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 18(4), 713-732.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763....
15.
Henderson, R., Sawtelle, V., & Nissen, J. M. (2020). Gender & self-efficacy: A call to physics educators. The Physics Teacher, 58(5), 345-348.
https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5145....
16.
Kahyaoglu, M., & Yangin, S. (2007). İlköğretim öğretmen adaylarının mesleki özyeterliliklerine ilişkin görüşleri [Opinions of primary school teacher candidates regarding their professional self-efficacy]. Kastamonu Journal of Education, 15(1), 73-84.
17.
Kalender, Z. Y., Marshman, E., Schunn, C. D., Nokes-Malach, T. J., & Singh, C. (2020). Damage caused by women’s lower self-efficacy on physics learning. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 16, 010118.
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRe....
18.
Kanadli, S. (2017). Prospective teachers’ professional self-efficacy beliefs in terms of their perceived autonomy support and attitudes towards the teaching profession: A mixed methods study. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri [Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice], 17(5), 1847-1871.
https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.....
19.
Khalo, X., Adu, E. O., & Olawale, B. E. (2022). Language difficulty as a factor related to learner errors in financial mathematics. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(10), em2156.
https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmst....
20.
Kilinc, A. C., Bellibas, M. S., & Bektas, F. (2021). Antecedents and outcomes of teacher leadership: The role of teacher trust, teacher self-efficacy, and instructional practice. International Journal of Educational Management, 35(7), 1556-1571.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-0....
21.
Korkmaz, F., & Unsal, S. (2016). Developing the scale of teacher self-efficacy in teaching process. European Journal of Educational Research, 5(2), 73-83.
https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-je....
22.
Marshman, E. M., Kalender, Z. Y., Nokes-Malach, T., Schunn, C., & Singh, C. (2018). Female students with A’s have similar physics self-efficacy as male students with C’s in introductory courses: A cause for alarm? Physical Review Physics Education Research, 14, 020123.
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRe....
23.
Mookkiah, M., & Prabu, M. (2019). Self-efficacy–Concept in learning. In Proceedings of the Universal Design for Learning Embedded with Assistive Technology for Children with Special Needs (pp. 1-8).
24.
Morris, D. B., Usher, E., & Chen, J. A. (2017). Reconceptualizing the sources of teaching self-efficacy: A critical review of emerging literature. Educational Psychology Review, 29(4), 795-833.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648....
25.
Nurlu, O. (2015). Investigation of teachers’ mathematics teaching self-efficacy. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 8(1), 21-40.
26.
Olawale, B. E., & Hendricks, W. (2022). Self-efficacy and academic performance of mathematics students in a South African University during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 53(3), 573-581.
https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass....
27.
Ozlu, G., Keskin, M., & Gul, A. (2013). Çevre eğitimi öz-yeterlik ölçeği geliştirilmesi: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [Development of environmental education self-efficacy scale: Validity and reliability study]. Gazi Üniversitesi Gazi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi [Gazi University Journal of Gazi Educational Faculty], 33(2), 393-410.
29.
Peker, M., Erol, R., & Gultekin, M. (2018). Investigation of the teacher self-efficacy beliefs of math teachers. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 6(4), 1-11.
30.
Peura, P., Aro, T., Räikkönen, E., Viholainen, H., Koponen, T., Usher, E. L., & Aro, M. (2021). Trajectories of change in reading self-efficacy: A longitudinal analysis of self-efficacy and its sources. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 64, 101947.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedp....
33.
Siddiquei, N., & Khalid, R. (2018). The relationship between personality traits, learning styles, and academic performance of e-learners. Open Praxis, 10(3), 249-263.
https://doi.org/10.5944/openpr....
34.
Tam, L., Choi, S. H., & Kim, J. N. (2021). Reconceptualizing the self-efficacy construct in public relations research: The case of sojourners and their communicative behaviors. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 102090.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubr....
36.
Unsal, S., Korkmaz, F., & Percin, S. (2016). Analysis of mathematics teachers’ self-efficacy levels concerning the teaching process. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(24), 99-107.
37.
Ustuner, M., Demirtas, H., & Comert, M. (2009). The attitudes of prospective teachers towards the profession of teaching. Education and Science, 34(151), 140-155.
38.
van Rooij, E. C., Fokkens-Bruinsma, M., & Goedhart, M. (2019). Preparing science undergraduates for a teaching career: Sources of their teacher self-efficacy. The Teacher Educator, 54(3), 270-294.
https://doi.org/10.1080/088787....
39.
Visser, M. M., Hannan, S. M., & Juan, A. L. (2019). Early learning experiences, school entry skills, and later mathematics achievement in South Africa. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 9(1), a597.
https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.....
40.
West, P. W. (2016). Simple random sampling of individual items in the absence of a sampling frame that lists the individuals. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science, 46, 15.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40490....
41.
Wettstein, A., Ramseier, E., & Scherzinger, M. (2021). Class- and subject teachers’ self-efficacy and emotional stability and students’ perceptions of the teacher-student relationship, classroom management, and classroom disruptions. BMC Psychology, 9, 103.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359....
42.
Wilson Fadiji, A., & Reddy, V. (2021). School and individual predictors of mathematics achievement in South Africa: The mediating role of learner aspirations. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 25(1), 65-76.
https://doi.org/10.1080/181172....
43.
Yurekli, B., Isiksal-Bostan, M., & Cakiroglu, E. (2020). Sources of preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in the context of a mathematics teaching methods course. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(5), 631-645.
https://doi.org/10.1080/026074....
44.
Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981-1015.
https://doi.org/10.3102/003465....