Recognizing African American students still perform academically at lower levels than their White counterparts, they maintain lower grades in school, and perform lower on standardized tests; educators and policy makers continue attempts at addressing these disparities. One remedy is implementing culturally specific material into curriculum to be reflective of the cultural diversity of students in the classroom. Although research indicates the use of material related to the student’s cultural origin can create a learning environment conducive to greater academic achievement particularly with minority children, few studies investigate the inclusion of culturally specific material in the classroom in relation to its effect on teachers. This study investigates the relationship between teacher’s view of culture’s role in the educational process and teacher efficacy and how this may be related to academic achievement. ANOVA’s and Correlation statistics were used to analyze the data. Results show statistically significant academic achievement differences but no significant differences in teacher attitudes towards multiculturalism and the teacher self efficacy variable.

In a mixed method study, teacher efficacy and contributing theoretical constructs of teacher concerns and teacher orientation with preservice teacher candidates were examined. Intermediate/Senior mathematics preservice teacher candidates from two major Ontario Universities’ Faculties of Education participated in this study. Data sources included a web-based survey containing two teacher efficacy scales and short answer questions, interviews with the preservice teacher candidates, and Intermediate/Senior mathematics course and program information collected from course instructors. Complexity theory provides support for the mixed methods methodology and the integrated and complex nature of teacher efficacy and its contributing factors. The literature on teacher efficacy rarely ventures into the secondary school mathematics preservice teacher level of teacher professional development. The study more clearly identifies teacher efficacy with preservice mathematics teachers and how teacher efficacy relates to teacher concerns and teacher orientation. The findings deepen the understanding of the connections between the constructs of teacher efficacy, teacher concern, and teacher orientation. Following from these findings, changes and considerations for preservice teacher preparation programs in order to more fully prepare secondary school mathematics teachers are described.

This study investigated the relationship between two elementary building administrators and their teaching faculty with regard to leadership styles of the principal. Leadership analysis determined that one principal had a transformational leadership and one principal who had a transactional leadership style. <br>A survey assessed the perceptions of elementary teachers regarding each school's climate, and their own empowerment resulting in teacher efficacy. Results were not congruent with the review of literature. <br>The school led by the transactional principal underwent an intervention for a twelve-week period during which changes were made based on the data from the pre-tests administered. These interventions reflected a more transformational leadership approach. The results of a second administration of surveys after interventions by the principal showed limited results in improving teacher efficacy and school climate. The researcher also gained insights as to future studies and implications for practice such as replication of the study using a longer intervention period and a larger sample within one school or more schools in the study. / School of Education / Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program for Education Leaders (IDPEL) / EdD / Dissertation

New teachers begin the school year with optimism and enthusiasm, but their excitement quickly wanes as they encounter the realities of the everyday life of a teacher. When they do not experience the successes they predicted, many begin to doubt their capabilities, which results in a lowered sense of teaching efficacy. This descriptive study was designed to identify the contextual factors novice teachers perceive as influences on personal teaching efficacy and to examine the relationships between the factors. Two groups of novice teachers who were concurrently enrolled in a post-baccalaureate accelerated educator preparation program and working as first-year teachers were the participants in the study. Data were gathered for the study through focus group activities, twice weekly journal entries completed during the teaching year, and a culminating “lessons learned” paper written during the last month of the first year of teaching. Each of the two focus groups identified nine contextual factors they perceived to affect personal teaching efficacy. Six factors were identified by both groups: parental involvement, support from administrators and colleagues, classroom discipline, testing results, teaching strategies and outcomes, and relationships with administrators and colleagues. The groups, however, perceived the relationships between the contextual factors differently. The generalists perceived recursive relationships between the factors, while the content group perceived a linear relationship.

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy are interrelated and how these two constructs may be impacted by teacher demographic characteristics, such as educational level, grade level taught, and number of years of teaching experience. This study focused entirely on the interrelationships of teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in three suburban, conservative Christian schools in north Texas. Specifically, the demographic characteristics of age, gender, ethnicity, particular school campus, number of years teaching, number of years teaching at the current school, highest degree received, type of teacher certification, certification grade level and subject area, grade level taught, and particular subject taught were studied for the non-random, convenience sample of 216 kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers. A correlational analysis of teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy yielded a Pearson r of .35 at a statistically significant level (p < .01); combining these two variables with teacher demographic variables in multiple regression analyses confirmed the relationship between teachers' perceptions of teacher efficacy and collective efficacy at a statistically significant level (p < .001). A review of the squared structure coefficients in the first multiple regression analysis (R2 = .284, p < .001) showed that individual teachers' perceptions of collective teacher efficacy explained the largest amount (43%) of the variance in teacher efficacy, followed by years of teaching experience (17%) and number of years of teaching at the current school (14%). A review of the squared structure coefficients in the second multiple regression analysis (R2 = .395, p < .001) indicated that individual teachers' perceptions of teacher efficacy explained the largest amount of variance in collective teacher efficacy (31%), followed the elementary teacher variable (22%) and particular school (19%).