Exploring the antecedents of English language teachers' teaching self-efficacy: a qualitative study

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed at exploring the antecedents of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' self-efficacy (SE). That is, the main purpose was to deeply delve into the main variables and latent which lead to a high sense of SE among teachers of English as a foreign language.Design/methodology/approachA phenomenological inquiry was employed to explore the antecedents of language teachers from their eyes. In this study, the phenomenon is SE antecedents. The researchers employed this method to help identify the meaning behind the human experience as it is related to a phenomenon or notable collective occurrence. A semistructured interview checklist was developed, carefully worded, reviewed by five teacher educators known as experts in qualitative research methodology and teacher education and edited based on the experts' feedbackFindingsThe findings showed that the antecedents of SE can be categorized into personal variables, educational variables and institutional variables. Personal variables include verbal intelligence, language proficiency and some other traits. The institutional variables include support from administration, support from colleagues, support from the community and quality of work life. The educational antecedents include preservice and in-service training courses. Preservice training courses included the following: the courses on general language skills, courses on teaching methods, practicum courses, etc.Originality/valueThis study was undertaken in a specific context and the participants are specific. Almost all studies on SE are quantitative, and this qualitative study explored the antecedents of teachers' SE from their own eyes. Some of the explored studies were not mentioned in any of the related studies.

Social support and general self-efficacy: Two predictors of quality of life at work in Ecuadorian teachers

“…Numerous studies confirmed the influence of self-efficacy on the quality of work life (Mensah and Lebbaeus, 2013;Orgambídez et al, 2020;Putra et al, 2021). Recent research showed that the quality of work life can also predict self-efficacy, which shows the relationship between both the constructs (Alibakhshi et al, 2021). In the case of self-efficacy, the theory suggests that job satisfaction is the result of a presence of high self-efficacy (Schaufeli, 2017), which is consistent with that reported in this study.…”

Structural Modeling of EFL/ESL Teachers’ Physical Activity, Mental Health, Psychological Well-being, and Self-efficacy

“…Teachers' SE, Mental health, and psychological well-being SE is a crucial concept in social-cognitive theory [67], which suggests that people can in uence their life and work situations even when external variables in uence their behavior [27,28,68]. SE can predict how much effort a person will put in, how well they will persevere in adversity, and how well they will control their thoughts, actions, and goals.…”

“…Teacher SE is task and context-speci c. That is, teachers feel effective or ineffective in different situations. The degree of effectiveness of teachers depends on their subject, the students they teach, and their tasks [27,28].…”

“…Teachers' SE as a sub eld of teacher education has been signi cantly studied [27,69,70]. This term has been conceptualized as teachers' belief in their ability to engage students in teaching and learning activities, manage the classrooms, and use appropriate teaching strategies to handle their teaching assignments [28].…”

“…It is also known that SE is a vital personal resource shaping our actions in all areas of life. Researchers interested in the self-e cacy of different professions, particularly teachers, have maintained that selfe cacy is associated with different positive and negative consequences [27,28,29].…”