Teacher efficacy beliefs is an important characteristic to predict instructional quality and the level of cognitive activation and educational support. Since teacher efficacy beliefs are context and domain specific, this study focuses on how special education pre-service teachers' individual interest and subject knowledge in mathematics predict their efficacy beliefs in teaching mathematics. Data were collected from 57 special education pre-service teachers. The results indicated that the individual interest of pre-service teachers has a strong effect on teacher efficacy beliefs, while subject knowledge has only an indirect effect.

No abstract

Educational reforms during the last decade have led to a more inclusive environment for students with different needs and have placed demands on teachers’ readiness to instruct diverse students in the general classroom. Previous research has ascertained that student achievement is correlated with teacher quality and teachers’ efficacy beliefs. Today, basic competence in mathematics is more important than ever for managing routine day‐to‐day activities and therefore, identifying and educationally supporting students with low performance in mathematics is necessary. The aim of the study was to investigate the perceived teacher efficacy beliefs of special education and mathematics teachers when teaching mathematics to low‐performing middle school students. Results indicated that special education teachers had higher teacher efficacy beliefs than mathematics teachers. Teacher experience, certification or gender had no effect on teachers’ efficacy beliefs. Furthermore, subject teachers reported high pedagogical knowledge for teaching low‐performing students, and special education teachers reported having moderate mathematical subject knowledge.

This study aimed to investigate how teachers’ certification status, experience in instruction, and teachers’ efficacy beliefs for teaching lower secondary students in mathematics are related to differentiated instruction practices. A total of 42 mathematics teachers and 27 special education teachers answered an electronic questionnaire regarding mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs and their frequency of use of differentiation practices. The results indicated that teachers’ efficacy beliefs were related to differentiation in content, flexible examination models, homework support, and co-teaching. Neither certification status nor teacher experience in instruction was related to the frequency of use of differentiation practices. As teacher efficacy beliefs seem to have an effect on the use of differentiation practices, and especially on co-teaching, it should be important for teacher education to focus on developing pre-service teachers’ efficacy beliefs as well as implementing a strong collaboration between different teacher groups.