Abstract:

Previous International Academy of Technology, Education and Development (IATED) conference proceedings papers [1] [2] [3] have reported the quantitative and qualitative findings from anonymous online surveys conducted by a Higher Education (HE), qualified teacher status (QTS) provider in the northwest of England. The surveys invited pre-service teachers qualifying to teach in England during the Covid-19 pandemic to volunteer demographic data, ascribe self-efficacy scores to pedagogy, behaviour management and student engagement teaching skills [1] and submit open responses to expand upon the reasons for their scorings [2]. The importance of Bandura’s [4] framework of major self-efficacy influencing factors and utility of Korthagen’s [5] onion model for reflection in theorising explanations for the findings have also been discussed [3].

Further statistical analysis of the self-efficacy scores was conducted to investigate the relationship between the different experiences of anti-Covid-19 measures and the respondents’ self-efficacy scores for individual teaching skills. In-school training was curtailed for respondents from the 2019-2020 initial teacher education (ITE) programmes during the last phase, whilst the 2020-2021 respondents experienced more unpredictable local closures and absences and a range of changed procedures due to anti-Covid-19 measures [1] [2] [3]. Chi squared analysis using contingency tables [6] compared the numbers of respondents from the two groups that returned self-efficacy scores 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6 and below, higher scores indicating more confidence.

Where differences were significant, the second group ascribed more higher scores and less lower scores than expected. This was assumed to be linked, at least in part, to the different experiences of anti-Covid-measures and their impact on the respondents’ ITE programmes. The chi squared calculations for individual skill statements were related to qualitative differences between the self-efficacy skill statements. Although all the statements describe skills which can be improved through professional knowledge, experience, and practice, some rely more on context and underlying teacher attributes [5] than others. Bandura’s [4] and Korthagen’s [5] perspectives were useful when applying theory to findings.

References:
[1] Tynan, R. and Mallaburn, A., “The self-efficacy of trainee teachers who were recommended for qualified teacher status (QTS) in England during the
Covid-19 pandemic,” EDULEARN22 Proceedings, pp. 484-489, 2022
[2] Tynan, R. and Mallaburn, A., “The self-efficacy of trainee teachers recommended for qualified teacher status (QTS) in England during the Covid-19
pandemic: looking for explanations,” ICERI 2022 Proceedings, pp. 6984-6993, 2022
[3] Tynan, R. and Mallaburn, A., “The self-efficacy of pre-service teachers: lessons learned during the covid-19 pandemic in the northwest of England,”
EDULEARN23 Proceedings, pp. 2276-2281, 2023
[4] Bandura, A., Self-efficacy: The exercise of control, New York, NY: W.H. Freeman, 1997
[5] Korthagen, F., “Inconvenient truths about teacher learning: towards professional development 3.0, Teachers and Teaching,” 23(4), pp 387-405, 2017
[6] Langley, R., Practical Statistics: for non-mathematical people, Lichfield: Pan Piper, 1968

Keywords:

Pre-service teachers, self-efficacy, Covid-19, England, chi squared, contingency tables, mixed study, onion model, Bandura.