Connections and Capacity: An Exploration of Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Belonging, Social Networks, and Self-Efficacy in Three Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

Learning to teach is rife with challenges. Preservice teachers’ self-efficacy can potentially mitigate the stress of these challenges, and teacher education programs are fundamental in helping them build this important resource. As such, understanding the foundations of self-efficacy is important for researchers and teacher educators alike. Grounding our study in social network theory, we explored the relationship between sense of belonging to a teacher education program, network centrality, and self-efficacy. Our sample included 245 preservice teachers in three university teacher education programs. We found that sense of belonging to the program and network centrality (in-degree and out-degree) were significantly and positively related to preservice teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. This study builds on a growing literature that explores the relationships between preservice teachers’ social networks and their beliefs and practices.

Finding Satisfaction in Belonging: Preservice Teacher Subjective Well-Being and its Relationship to Belonging, Trust, and Self-Efficacy

“…One of the main goals of this paper is therefore to address this gap in the literature. Bjorklund et al (2020) found that a sense of belonging can give preservice teachers a space where they feel confident to grow and develop as teachers and increase feelings of teacher self-efficacy; we theorize that sense of belonging within a teacher education program will also be related to feelings of SWB for preservice teachers.…”

“…Despite the growing research and positive outcomes related to sense of belonging in undergraduate settings, there is a dearth of research on the topic in postgraduate settings, such as teacher education programs (e.g., Bjorklund et al, 2020;Bjorklund and Daly, 2021). One of the main goals of this paper is therefore to address this gap in the literature.…”

“…Recently, Bjorklund et al (2020) explored self-efficacy in seven cohorts in three teacher education programs and found a positive relationship between preservice teachers' centrality in a support network, feelings of belonging to their teacher education program, and teacher self-efficacy. Additionally, Liou et al (2017) found a positive relationship between selfefficacy and preservice teachers' academic performance.…”

“…We understand sense of belonging to be preservice teachers' feelings that they are a part of and valued by their teacher education program in general, which encompasses faculty, cooperating teachers, positive learning environments, and ideological fit. We used a variable incorporated in past research (Bjorklund et al, 2020) that was modeled on a previously validated scale (Anderson-Butcher and Conroy, 2002) to fit the context of the teacher education program in the study. Each item utilized a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree).…”

“…Moreover, Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2001 andFives andBuehl (2010) argued that because the three-factor solution may be inadequate for preservice teachers, a single-factor selfefficacy scale may be more appropriate. As such, we used a singlefactor omnibus or general teaching efficacy scale (α 0.88), with all 12 items in line with prior studies of preservice teachers and self-efficacy (Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2001;Putman, 2012;Bjorklund et al, 2020). Example items are "To what extent can you use a variety of assessment strategies?"…”