Many calls have been made for more research on social studies teachers’ practices and preservice training. Instructional practices employed by teachers are important for encouraging student learning. However, there is a history of social studies teachers focusing much of their time on teacher-centered instructional techniques that have not demonstrated strong learning for students. Therefore it is important to examine not just how teachers chose to teach, but also where they may have learned to teach. This study examined data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 of 240 secondary social studies teachers to understand what instructional practices they report employing and their feelings about their preparation. Data analysis provided direct empirical evidence of the power of teacher preparation programs to shape social studies teachers’ instructional practices well into their teaching careers.

This study explores the motivations for becoming a teacher, teachers’ self-efficacy, and the relationship among motivations and teacher self-efficacy using data from the TALIS 2018. The data included responses from 1933 United States teachers with six or more years of teaching experience. Results indicate that motivations, which were more intrinsic and altruistic, for becoming a teacher are positively correlated to teacher self-efficacy of classroom management, instruction, student engagement, and multicultural classrooms. The largest relationship was between motivation and self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms; the smallest relationship was between motivation and self-efficacy of classroom management. Extrinsic motivations had limited relationships to self-efficacy.

No abstract