Time to grow efficacious: effect of teacher efficacy on students’ classroom engagement

• Published in: SN Social Sciences 2021-10, Vol.1 (11), Article 266
• Main Authors: Kundu, Arnab, Bej, Tripti, Dey, Kedar Nath
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Education; Linguistics; Original Paper; Psychology; Social Sciences
• ISSN: 2662-9283; 2662-9283
• DOI: 10.1007/s43545-021-00270-y

The main purpose of this design study was to explore the effect of teachers’ self-efficacy on students’ classroom engagement. To achieve this, a manipulative increase in teachers’ self-efficacy level was necessary with apposite training, which was an important objective in this investigation. This design-based research (DBR) was conducted taking 15 secondary school teachers and 40 students of a ninth-grade class in an Indian government secondary school. The participant teachers were trained for 10 weeks following a specific training module by the three researchers to enhance their teaching efficacy with maximum control over the potential confounding variables. Quantitative data were collected using standardized scales in two cycles—pre-test (before training intervention) and post-test (after training). Findings revealed teacher efficacy had a positive effect on students’ classroom engagement implying that the efficacious teachers were more effective in making students engaged in the classroom although degrees of engagement varied depending on students’ gender. The training module developed for this study was found effective in enhancing teacher efficacy and notably, this psychological change among them emerged during 10 weeks even in a school with poor academic infrastructure, orthodox pedagogy, the poor scope for teachers’ professional development, and underachieved yet willing teachers.