Pre-service English teachers’ teaching-efficacy perceptions and their potential sources in field experience

Year 2017, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 12 - 24, 30.06.2017

Handan Çelik , Ece Zehir Topkaya

Abstract

Field experience
(FE) is a key component of pre-service English language teacher education
enabling the early integration of pre-service teachers (PSTs) in real teaching
situations. As a well-researched area, FE is known to increase PSTs’
teaching-efficacy perceptions. Thus, to better understand how it does so in the
Turkish context, this study examines senior PSTs’ (N=145) teaching-efficacy perceptions and the potential sources of
these perceptions in the course of FE.  Adopting
a pretest-posttest design supported by semi-structured interviews (N=30), the study showed a significant increase
in the PSTs’ teaching-efficacy perceptions from pre-test to post-test (p<.05). While the interview data indicated
that prior teaching experience, decreased
sense of teaching anxiety, and increased confidence in professional self were
among the major sources of the increase in these perceptions, such sources as untested teaching competencies and critical awareness of teaching and
profession had a negative impact on the PSTs’ efficacy perceptions.

Keywords

field experience, pre-service English teachers, teaching-efficacy, teaching competencies

References

• Akbulut Taş, M. & Karabay, A. (2016). Developing teaching skills through the school practicum in Turkey. A metasynthesis study. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 4(11), 87-99.
• Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Eds.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press. (Reprinted in H. Friedman [Ed.] Encyclopedia of mental health. San Diego: Academic Press, 1998). Borg, S. (2009). Language teacher cognition. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to Second language teacher education (pp.163-171). NY, New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Brown, A. L., Lee, J., & Collins, D. (2015). Does student teaching matter? Investigating pre-service teachers’ sense of efficacy and preparedness. Teaching Education, 26(1), 77-93. Carr, D. (2013). The effects of teacher preparation programs on novice teachers regarding classroom management, academic preparation, time management and self-efficacy. Unpublished EdD Dissertation, Liberty University, VA.
• Caires, S., Almeida, L., & Vieira, D. (2012). Becoming a teacher: student teachers’ experiences and perceptions about teaching practice. European Journal of Teacher Education, 35(2), 163-178.
• Chacon, C. T. (2005). Teachers’ perceived efficacy among English as a foreign language teachers in middle schools in Venezuela. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 257-272.
• Clarke, A. & Collins, S. (2007). Complexity science and student teacher supervision. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 160-172.
• Coladarci, T. & Breton, W. A. (1997). Teacher efficacy, supervision and the special education resource-room teacher. The Journal of Educational Research, 90(4), 230-239.
• Creswell, J. W. (2009). The analysis of qualitative data. In K. F. Punch. Introduction to research methods in education. Thousand Oaks: Sage. pp. 169-205.
• Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3-21.
• Cruz, M. T. & Arias, P. F. C. (2007). Comparative analysis of expectations of efficacy in in-service and prospective teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 641-652.
• Darling-Hammond, L. & Cobb, V. L. (1995). Teacher preparation and professional development in APEC members: A comparative study. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
• Darling-Hammond, L., Chung, R., & Frelow, F. (2002a). Variation in teacher preparation. How well do different pathways prepare teachers to teach? Journal of Teacher Education, 53(4), 286-302.
• Darling-Hammond, L., Eiler, M., & Marcus, A. (2002b). Perceptions of preparation: Using survey data to assess teacher education outcomes. Issues in Teacher Education, 11(1), 65-74.
• Dörnyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in second language research. Construction, administration, and processing. New Jersey; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Durgunoğlu, A. Y., & Hughes, T. (2010). How prepared the U.S. preservice teachers to teach English language learners? International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 22(1), 32-41.
• Freytag, C. E. (2001). Teacher efficacy and inclusion: The impact of preservice experiences on beliefs. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwest Educational Research Association. February 1-3, New Orleans, LA.
• Gebhard, J. G. (2009). The practicum. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp.250-258). New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Giallo, R. & Little, E. (2003). Classroom behavior problems: The relationship between preparedness, classroom experiences, and self-efficacy in graduate and student teachers. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 3, 21-34.
• Gliem, J. A. & Gliem, R. R. (2003). Calculating, interpreting, and reporting Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient for Likert-Type scales. Paper presented at Midwest Research to Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, Columbus, OHIO. Available at http://www.ssnpstudents.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/
• Gliem-Gliem.pdf Grijalva, S.D.D. & Barajas, E. R. (2013). Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about language teaching and learning: A longitudinal study. PROFILE, 15(1), 81-95. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1053741.pdf
• Gurvitch, R. & Metzler, M. W. (2009). The effects of laboratory-based and field-based practicum experience on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 437-443.
• Guskey, T. R. (1984). The influence of change in instructional effectiveness upon the affective characteristics of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 21(2), 245-259.
• Guskey, T. R. & Passaro, P. (1993). Teacher efficacy: A study of construct dimension. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research (AERA) Association. April 11th -16th, Atlanta, GA.
• Hollins, E. R. (2011). Teacher preparation for quality teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(4), 395-407.Housego, B. E. J. (1990). Student teachers’ feelings of preparedness to teach. Canadian Journal of Education, 15(1), 37-56.
• Hoy, A. W. & Spero, R. B. (2005). Changes in teacher efficacy during the early years of teaching: A comparison of four measures. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 343-356.
• Johnson, K. E. (2006). The sociocultural turn and its challenges for second language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 235-257.
• Jung, W., Cho, G., & Ambrosetti, D. (2011). Preservice teachers’ confidence levels in working with students with special needs. Improving preservice teacher training programs. Electronic Journal of Inclusive Education, 2(7), 1-23.
• Karakaş, M. (2016). An examination of pre-service ELT teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and teacher knowledge as constituents of teacher identity construction. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, TURKEY.
• Knoblauch, D. & Hoy, A. W. (2008). “Maybe I can teach those kids.” The influence of contextual factors on student teachers’ efficacy beliefs. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 166-179.
• Kömür, Ş. (2010). Teaching knowledge and teacher competencies: a cases study of Turkish pre-service English teachers. Teaching Education, 21(3), 279-296.
• Kraut, N. J. (2013). What it means to feel prepared to teach: A mixed methods investigation into preservice English language arts teachers’ perceptions of preparedness. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, North Carolina State University, NC.
• Li, X. (1999). Preparedness to teach: A comparison between consecutive and concurrent education students. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, XLV (2), 184-197.
• Martins, M., Costa, J., & Onofre, M. (2015). Practicum experiences as sources of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38(2), 263-279.
• McDonald, J. H. (2014). Handbook for Biological Statistics. (3rd Ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Sparky House Publishing.McMillan, J. H. (1996). Educational Research. Fundamentals for the Consumer. (2nd Ed.). New York: HarperCollins CollegePublishers.
• Nunan, D. & Bailey, K. M. (2009). Exploring second language classroom research. Boston: Heiinle, Cengage Learning. Oh, S. (2011). Preservice teachers’ sense of efficacy and its sources. Psychology, 2(3), 235-240.
• Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307-332.
• Polat, S. & Ogay Barka, T. (2014). Pre-service teachers’ intercultural competence: A comparative study of teachers in Switzerland and Turkey. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 54, 19-98.
• Poulou, M. (2007). Personal teaching efficacy and its sources: Student teachers’ perceptions. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 27(2), 191-218.
• Putman, S. M. (2012). Investigating teacher efficacy: Comparing preservice and inservice teachers with different levels of experience. Action in Teacher Education, 34, 26-40.
• Ronfeldt, M. & Reininger, M. (2012). More or better student teaching? Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 1091-1106.Ross, K. N. (2005). Quantitative research methods in educational planning. Sample design for educational survey research. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning. Online available at http://www.unesco.org/iiep/PDF/TR_Mods/Qu_Mod3.pdf
• Rozelle, J. J. & Wilson, S. M. (2012). Opening the black box of field experiences: How cooperating teachers’ beliefs and practices shape student teachers’ beliefs and practices. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(8), 1196-1205.
• Sabancı, O. & Yazıcı, K. (2017). Öğretmen adaylarının ölçme ve değerlendirmeye yönelik yeterlik algılarının incelenmesi. Trakya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 7(1), 128-153.
• Seferoğlu, G. (2006). Teacher candidates’ reflections on some components of a pre-service English teacher education programme in Turkey. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(4), 369-378.
• Selvi, A. F. (2012). A quest to prepare all English language teachers for diverse teaching settings: If not us, who? If not now, when? Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Maryland, MD.
• Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Informatics, 22, 63-75.
• Siwatu, K. O. (2011). Preservice teachers’ sense of preparedness and self-efficacy to teach in America’s urban and suburban schools: Does context matter? Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 357-365.
• Smollcek, L. A. & Mongan, A. A. (2011). Changes in pre-service teachers’ science-efficacy. From science methods to student teaching. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 1(1), 133-143.
• Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: An overview. In Denzin N., & Lincoln, Y. Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp.273-284). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.
• Tran, Y. K. (2011). Perceptions of teachers’ preparedness and efficacy beliefs for teaching English language learners. Unpublished PhD Dissertation. The University of Texas at Austin: TX.
• Trumbull, M. (2005). Qualitative research methods. In Taylor, G. R. (Eds.). Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in research. (2nd ed.). Lanham, Maryland. University Press of America.
• Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfolk-Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 202-248.
• Tschannen-Moran, M. & Woolfolk-Hoy, A. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 783-805.
• Tschannen-Moran, M. & Woolfolk-Hoy, A. (2007). The differential antecedents of self-efficacy beliefs of novice and experienced teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(6), 944-956.
• Turner, K., Jones, E., Davies, M., & Ramsay, S. (2004). Student teacher perceptions of preparedness for teaching. Educating: Weaving Research into Practice, 3, 184-193.
• Türk Eğitim Derneği (TED) (2009). Öğretmen yeterlikleri. Ankara: Türk Eğitim Derneği.
• Unal, Z. & Unal. A. (2014). Perspectives of pre-service and in-service teachers on their preparation to work with parents in elementary classrooms. The Educational Forum, 78(2), 112-126.
• Uztosun, M. S. (2016). Pre-service and in-service English teachers’ efficacy beliefs about teaching English at primary schools. Elementary Education Online, 15(4), 1191-1205.
• Woolfolk-Hoy, A. (2000). Changes in teacher efficacy during the early years of teaching. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
• Wilson, S. M., Floden, R. E., & Ferrini-Mundy, J. (2001). Teacher preparation research: Current knowledge, gaps, and recommendations. A Research Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Education. Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy. Online available at https://depts.washington.edu/ctpmail/PDFs/TeacherPrep-WFFM-02-2001.pdf
• Zohrabi, M. (2013). Mixed method research: Instruments, validity, reliability, and reporting findings. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(2), 254-262.