The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master's degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the…

Transformational leadership researchers have given little attention to teacher expectations that mediate between goals and actions. The most important of these expectations, teacher efficacy, refers to teacher beliefs that they will be able to bring about student learning. This study examined the mediating effects of teacher efficacy by comparing…

The purpose of this study was to develop, validate, and establish the reliability of an instrument that measures preservice teachers' self-efficacy in regard to the teaching of science as inquiry. The instrument, Teaching Science as Inquiry (TSI), is based upon the work of Bandura (1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1997), Riggs (1988), and…

The need exists for methods courses to address the pedagogy issues of using graphing calculators. There needs to be a teacher candidate forum to examine their pedagogical perspectives on using graphing calculators in teaching, to explore when and how to use graphing calculators in the classroom, and to provide opportunities to practice teaching…

This study examines how teachers actually cope with behavioural problems of included students. In order to understand the impact of individual differences on teachers' coping strategies, the authors looked at the relationship between these strategies and teachers' democratic beliefs and self-efficacy. Participants were 33 teachers in Israel, who…

Background: Many children and adolescents are physically inactive and become even less active as they age. USA high school students' rates of attendance in physical education (PE) classes sharply decline by grade with 73% of ninth graders attending PE, while only 31% of seniors attend. Non-Caucasian youth report the lowest levels of physical…

In this article, the author used a parenting style framework to explain mixed evidence about the influence of teacher practices on student outcomes. Participants included 3 fifth-grade math teachers and 45 of their students. The author assessed teacher practices, teaching style (i.e., demandingness and responsiveness), student engagement,…

Examines factors that influence personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy in elementary teachers. Data collection methods included questionnaires and interviews. Results indicate that preservice and inservice experiences, such as success in high-quality science courses and workshops, access to resources and time,…

Examines the beliefs of preservice elementary teachers toward science and science teaching. Analysis of the interview responses yielded both interesting and, at times, predictable patterns. Descriptors used by study participants were overwhelmingly negative, suggesting that negative feelings overshadow achievement in science as an influence on…

Two faculty members in the department of mathematical sciences at a four-year university, with teacher-education experience, presented a workshop for in-service elementary and middle-school teachers. The intention was to address affective aspects of teaching including: teacher efficacy, learning styles, cognitive dissonance, relaxation, and…

To advance understanding of the issues concerning teachers' working conditions, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario commissioned one of the authors to do an analytical review of literature on teachers' working conditions. This resulted in the publication, "Teacher Working Conditions That Matter: Evidence for Change." The…

This paper introduces a new self-efficacy instrument for science teachers and presents confirmatory factor analysis results for 247 elementary school teachers. Building on previous research on the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) (I. Riggs and L. Enochs, 1990), the new instrument, the Self-Efficacy Teaching and Knowledge…

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher characteristics that may lead to special education referrals, including efficacy, burnout, experience, and preparation. We hypothesized that likelihood to refer for special education is related to these teacher characteristics. This study involved 106 elementary teachers who rated themselves on…

The study investigated the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics teacher efficacy among elementary preservice teachers. Participants included 28 elementary preservice teachers at a mid-size university in the southeastern United States who had just completed a mathematics methods course. Data sources included the Mathematics…

In order to examine effective behaviors and efficacy, this study examined the relationships between the self-reflection of effective practices by principals and teachers, as assessed by self-efficacy scales, and student achievement, as evaluated by the state assessment program. Other studies determined that effective behaviors preceded and…