Teacher efficacy is currently an important concept in teaching research. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of teacher demographic characteristics and school organizational conditions to teacher efficacy. The sample is 426 elementary teachers in Taiwan. Two instruments are used: the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) and the Demographic Information Inventory (DII). The data are analyzed by t-tests, analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of variance. The main results show that: (1) elementary teachers exhibit a mixture of low and moderate levels of efficacy beliefs, and their scores in six subscales of TES are significantly different; and (2) teachers' years in teaching, grade assignment, and location of school are significantly related to teacher efficacy, while teacher sex, school size, and classroom size are not. This study suggests four implications for teacher education: (1) to identify the importance of teacher efficacy in teaching; (2) to give training for beginning teachers to enhance their sense of efficacy ; (3) to encourage teachers to participate in school decision making and change their work environments; and (4) to cultivate urban teachers' ability to overcome the impact of the mass media on teaching.
| Keywords: | teacher efficacy; school improvement; educational reform; teacher characteristics; institutional characteristics; teacher education |
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