Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale

The Teacher Self-Efficacy scale is a 10 item measure developed by Ralf Schwarzer, Gerdamarie Schmitz, and Gary Daytner in 1999. It identifies job skills and groups them into four major areas: (a) job accomplishment, (b) skill development on the job, (c) social interaction with students, parents, and colleagues, and (d) coping with job stress. The items, originally 27, reduced to 10, were constructed following Bandura‘s social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997; Schwarzer, 1992, 1993). Therefore the items are personal, using the word “I” and the concept “can” or “be able to.” Also the authors focused on difficult tasks, reasoning along with Bandura’s theory that to ask about easy tasks would not be getting at self-efficacy.

Authors

Ralf Schwarzer, Gerdamarie S. Schmitz, & Gary T. Daytner, 1999

Reliability and Validity

Original 27 items administered three times to ~300 German teachers. Optimizing validity was desired over maximizing internal consistency.

Cronbach’s alpha between .76 and .82

Test-retest reliability .67 (N = 158) and .76 (N = 193) over one year. Over two years .65 (N = 161).

See the instrument page on Ralf Schwarzer’s website for more information

Obtaining the Instrument

This instrument is offered for free on Ralf Schwarzer’s website.

Administration, Analysis and Reporting

Intellectus Consulting can assist the student or professional researcher in administering the survey instrument, collecting the data, conducting the analyses and explaining the results.
For additional information on these services, click here.

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self–efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

Schwarzer, R. (ed.) (1992). Self–efficacy. Thought control of action. Washington, DC: Hemisphere.

Schwarzer, R. (1993). Streß, Angst und Handlungsregulation (3. Auflage). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.

Schmitz, G.S. (1998). Entwicklung der Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen von Lehrern. . Unterrichtswissenschaft, 2, 140-157.

Schmitz, G.S. & Schwarzer, R. (2000). Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung von Lehrern: Längsschnittbefunde mit einem neuen Instrument . Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 14 (1), 12-25.

Schwarzer, R., & Hallum, S. (2008). Perceived teacher self-efficacy as a predictor of job stress and burnout: Mediation analyses. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW,57, 152–171 (Special Issue: Health and Well-Being). doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00359.x