This study hypothesizes that a sense of personal and teaching efficacy can be explained, in part, by a historical pattern of student achievement performance and workplace context. To measure perceptions of efficacy, power, and school climate, a questionnaire was completed by approximately 1,500 elementary school teachers in the spring terms of 1991, 1992, and 1993. Achievement scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills for 5 years preceding the first survey determined students' historical achievement performance. Findings indicated that context was an important influence on teaching efficacy; that a positive school atmosphere (focused on instruction), the reduction of barriers to effective teaching, and classroom-based decision-making each contributed to teachers' sense of teaching efficacy; and that schools with historically poor achievement tended to have teachers who reported a poorer image of school atmosphere which contributed to poorer perceptions of teaching effectiveness. Results suggest opportunities for improving the self-view of teachers and their profession. Specific recommendations include improvement of the instructional focus and climate of schools and provision of greater opportunity for teachers to participate and be influential in instructional and curricular decisions. A path diagram linking context variables to teaching efficacy is appended. (Contains 23 references.) (LL)