Teachers’ social self-efficacy: development and validation of a new scale

Abstract

Teachers’ social self-efficacy is an important construct that has not been examined adequately in education yet. Developing a comprehensive understanding of teachers’ social self-efficacy requires measuring these beliefs in the social domain of teachers’ functioning. This study developed the Teachers’ Social Self-Efficacy Scale (TSSES) scale and investigated its psychometric properties in a total sample of 650 preschool teachers from Greece. Results from factor analysis revealed a bi-factor model underlying a global TSSE factor and five specific factors. Evidence of validity was obtained with the TSSES prediction on the closeness and conflict dimensions of teacher–student relationship quality. Findings showed that the TSSES can be considered as a valid and reliable instrument. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Keywords

• teachers’ social self-efficacy
• teacher–student relationships quality
• self-efficacy
• factor analysis
• bi-factor model