 |
Asia-Pacific
Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 7, Issue 2, Article 2
(Dec., 2006) Heba EL-DEGHAIDY An investigation of pre-service teacher’s self-efficacy and self-Image as a science teacher in Egypt
|
In this
study pre-service teachers experienced a science teaching methods course
designed with constructivist teaching and learning approaches. The findings
imply the impact the methods course has on self-efficacy beliefs and suggest
that increased personal efficacy is associated with increased
‘student-centredness’ features portrayed in participants' drawing.
These
findings enhance the understanding of the impact teacher preparation courses
have in forming the foundation for teachers' future practise. Without
confidence, based on a high personal science teaching self-efficacy belief and
images of self that reflect teaching behaviour in classroom, teachers may be
less likely to teach science effectively.
However, limitations of this study are that the size of the groups was small and results from quantitative analysis may be misleading. This implies the need for further research with a larger sample size and a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses. Difficulties were found with interpreting abstract images in the absence of the pre-service teacher who drew it, suggesting that drawings should be accompanied by interviews with students about what the drawing represented. Another difficulty was with correlating DASTT-C scores with STEBI-B scores. Instead of building an instrument using ‘teacher-centredness’ elements that have negative interpretations, it would have been better to have an instrument that uses positive interpretations from high scores. Nevertheless, this study perceives its importance in its contribution to the current literature in the area of self-efficacy beliefs and images of self. Implications for future science teaching methods courses suggest that courses be developed with a perspective of strengthening self-efficacy. There are questions to be answered in future research that help understand the effect teacher practicum, various programmes and designs of teaching methods courses may have on pre-service teachers' images of self and efficacy beliefs. More research in this area is needed to clarify the limited impact of the teaching methods course on self-images. In addition to the unpredicted relationships found between science teaching outcome expectancy with self-images, probably with large scale samples in order to gain a wider perspective of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and self-images in the Egyptian context.
Copyright (C) 2006 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 7, Issue 2, Article 2 (Dec., 2006). All Rights Reserved.