Factors that Determine Preschool Teacher Self-Efficacy in an Urban School District

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to determine what teacher variables are predictive of preschool teacher self-efficacy in an urban school district. A total of 83 preschool teachers participated in the study. Teacher variables, such as years of teaching experience, job satisfaction, location of employment, age, and self-efficacy were included in a series of ANOVA analyses. Linear regression modeling reported years of teaching experience outside the birth-2nd grade setting (β= -.232, t(1,79) = -2.124, p< .05) and job satisfaction (β = .294, t(2,78) = 2.793, p< .01) were statistically significant predictors of preschool teacherself-efficacy. This study found that teachers with a greater amount of teaching experience outside of the birth-2nd settingfeel less efficacious about themselves and their abilities to positively influence student achievement and outcomes in thepreschool classroom. Further policy implications, such as hiring practices are discussed.

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Self-efficacy
• Job satisfaction
• Preschool teacher
• Classroom outcomes.