Measuring Teacher Sense of Efficacy: Insights and Recommendations Concerning Scale Design and Data Analysis from Research with Preservice and Inservice Teachers in China

In this study,issues concerning the design of scales for measuring teacher sense of efficacy(TSE)are first identified with particular attention to the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale(TSES).Psychometric issues concerning analysis and reporting of TSE data are subsequently identified.Recommendations are offered about all identified issues,and these recommendations are taken into account when obtaining and analyzing TSE data from Chinese mainland preservice and inservice teachers.Exploratory factor analyses yielded a single factor for both samples as well as for four subgroups within the inservice teacher sample.Results also provided insights about scale design as well as the TSES being limited for capturing the breadth of TSE.Suggestions are made for improvements in the assessment of TSE.

Efficacy Perceptions of Preservice and Inservice Teachers in China: Insights Concerning Culture and Measurement

This study comprises the second stage of a research program in which sense of efficacy for teaching(SET)was investigated in Chinese mainland preservice and inservice teachers(PSTs and ISTs,respectively).Scores on SET were calculated and described,and SET comparisons were made between and within PSTs and ISTs.Relative to PSTs,ISTs had higher SET;within both the PSTs and IST samples there were no gender differences;but among ISTs there were some associations of SET with years of teaching,teacher roles,and whether the schools were categorized as advanced or standard.Tentative comparisons are drawn concerning SET in Chinese and Western contexts,and recommendations are made concerning effective measurement of teacher sense of efficacy in China and elsewhere.