Developing a Framework to Understand Teachers' Self-efficacy in the Teaching of Writing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which the domain specific selfefficacies manifest themselves in the teaching of writing. A teachers' sense of efficacy is a multidimensional construct and is a significant construct in how teachers' view themselves as writers and teachers of writing. This study explored how five elementary classroom teachers viewed these domain specific self-efficacies and the ways in which the various sources of efficacy influenced their self-efficacy as writers and teachers of writing. The researcher collected and analyzed domain specific self-efficacy scales and individual interviews to capture the experiences of these teachers. There was variability across and within the domain specific self-efficacy scales. The most salient source of efficacy as a writer and teacher of writing that emerged was physiological arousals.