Teacher Education and the Roots of Icelandic Student Teachers’ Instructional Self-Efficacy

Abstract

The focus in this study is on the antecedents of Icelandic student teachers’ instructional self-efficacy in classroom management and ability to support learner engagement. We examine how student teachers’ instructional self-efficacy relates to their experience in the teacher education programme, including campus preparation and practice teaching in schools. Data were gathered from 191 compulsory school student teachers. The results show that experiences with problem behaviour in the classroom are negatively related to student teachers’ efficacy in classroom management. Further, perceptions of the relevance of campus experiences are strongly related to student teachers’ efficacy in classroom management. The implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Keywords

• instructional self-efficacy
• learner engagement
• classroom management
• teacher education
• structural equation modelling