Opportunities to Learn for Teachers’ Self‐Efficacy and Enthusiasm

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify opportunities to learn for teachers' motivational orientations. Motivational orientations are relevant characteristics of psychological functioning, which are important for the behavior of a teacher and mandatory for effective teaching. We focus on three domains: self-efficacy, subject-specific enthusiasm, and enthusiasm for teaching the subject. Selfefficacy covers the belief of an individual that he or she is capable of performing required behaviors to produce a desired outcome. Teacher enthusiasm is an affective teacher orientation that is related to a specific subject and to teaching this specific subject. Different opportunities to learn are considered for teachers' motivational orientations. Since teacher education particularly focuses on the acquisition of professional knowledge, we added a further exploratory focus to the study and investigated the relationships between motivational orientations and professional knowledge (content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge). 134 biology teachers participated in the study. The results reveal that teacher education at university, the attendance in professional development courses, and self-study provide opportunities to learn for self-efficacy and enthusiasm for teaching the subject. Moreover, we found self-efficacy and subject-specific enthusiasm to be positively related to pedagogical content knowledge.

Do Pre-service Teachers Dance with Wolves? Subject-Specific Teacher Professional Development in A Recent Biodiversity Conservation Issue

“…As the belief system of teachers is likely to change when they enter school practice [138], our results are at the moment only applicable to pre-service teachers. But since teachers' individual experiences during teacher education are an important contributor to professional development [82], this phase of teacher education is important for shaping the professional identity of teachers. This has also been shown in biodiversity contexts [139].…”

“…While both variables refer to the individual's ability to perform behaviours, perceived behavioural control better captures the specific nature of teaching about topics, as self-efficacy is a more general trait than concentrated on one behaviour [79,80]. Prior studies found knowledge [81] and initial teacher education [82] as important antecedents of efficacy beliefs.…”

Evaluation, Validation and Modification of Science Motivation Questionnaire for Upper Secondary School

“…The connection between motivation, and different aspects of teaching and learning Biology was approved in numerous studies (e.g. Dyrberg, Treusch, & Wiegand, 2017;Jeno, Grytnes, & Vandvik, 2017;Mahler, Großschedl, & Harms, 2017).…”

Burnout Syndrome Profiles among Teachers

“…Self-efficacy among teachers has been shown to be related to their performance in relation to the teaching-learning process, as well as their emotional aspects, regarding emotional exhaustion and satisfaction towards work (Mahler, Großschedl, & Harms, 2017). A study with Korean teachers demonstrated that the sense of efficacy positively correlates with persistence, self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence, acting as a protective resource against stress (Park et al, 2016).…”