Self-Efficacy: a booster for pedagogical innovation

Abstract

This study is framed within a research doctorate program, whose aim is to investigate: 1. Italian lower secondary teachers’ familiarity with ICT, active teaching and peer sharing; 2. teachers’ profile and its correlation with difficulties in ICT integration and pedagogical innovation; 3. teachers’ self-efficacy perception and its correlation with professional development and training opportunities. On account of these goals, we have been trying to arrange a few initiatives of informal training in enhanced environment, built upon a cooperative task-based approach. This training model is meant to reskill educational professionals in technological advances, but also to grow teachers’ self-efficacy perceptions, which are important variables, affecting behavior and goal orientation, and are proved to predict intentions in ICT adoption. Possible significant contribution in this model relies on two aspects: providing blended interactive environment for peer training; encouraging technological adoption in school by affecting teachers’ self-efficacy perception. According to provisional results, teacher's needs for peer discussion, sharing and counselling have been answered by in-presence and virtual debate, as well as by focus group meetings; ICT perceptions have positively evolved after collaborative training and knowledge building practice. Conclusive findings analysis should also indicate whether the reinforcement of self-perception enhances teachers’ intention to implement and share pedagogical innovation within the school.

Keywords

• Teachers' Professional Development
• Peer Education
• Self-efficacy
• Enhanced Learning Environment