Chapter 9: Teacher Self-Efficacy: Conceptual Analysis and Relations with Teacher Burnout and Perceived School Context

Self-referenced perceptions are considered important in most theories of motivation and motivated behavior. Based on social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977; 1997), a vast number of studies have shown that students’ academic self-efficacy are predictive of study behavior as well as academic outcomes (see Skaalvik & Bong, 2003; Maddux & Gosselin, 2003). Less research has been done investigating teacher self-efficacy, which may be conceptualized as teachers’ beliefs in their ability to influence valued students outcomes (e.g., Soodak & Podell, 1996; Wheatley, 2005). However, a problem with research on teacher self-efficacy is that there is no common agreement about how the construct should be conceptualized and how it should be measured. It has been conceptualized and measured differently by different researchers. There is therefore an urgent need to develop a valid measure of teacher self-efficacy based on conceptual analysis of the construct.