Unpacking EFL Teacher Self-Efficacy in Livestream Teaching in the Chinese Context

Abstract

Teacher self-efficacy has long been researched in the context of face-to-face teaching, but it has received less attention with regard to online teaching. To address this gap, the current study utilized a questionnaire adapted from Lin and Zheng as the major instrument and supplementary interviews to examine teacher self-efficacy in livestream teaching in the Chinese context. Exploratory factor analysis results from 486 senior high school English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in China yielded a two-factor structure of teacher self-efficacy comprising instructional self-efficacy and technological self-efficacy. Across the sample, EFL teachers had moderate-to-high self-efficacy in general, and they showed higher levels of technological self-efficacy than instructional self-efficacy. The interview data also indicated a fluctuation in technological self-efficacy at the onset of livestream teaching compared to 1 month into livestream teaching. This study results offer some useful suggestions for enhancing teacher self-efficacy.

Investigating the Correlation Among Chinese EFL Teachers' Self-efficacy, Work Engagement, and Reflection

“…As a result, numerous studies have recently been conducted on teacher-psychology variables (e.g., self-esteem, self-efficacy, motivation, agency, resilience, identity, well-being, burnout, autonomy, etc.). One of the most important teacher-related variables in second/foreign language contexts is self-efficacy that refers to one's self-concept regarding his/her abilities to accomplish a task efficiently (Bandura, 1977;Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, 2001;Fathi and Derakhshan, 2019;Fathi et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2021). First introduced in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), self-efficacy underscores one's agency, engagement, and control over what he/she does (Bandura, 1997).…”

A Mixed-Methods Study on Senior High School EFL Teacher Resilience in China

“…First, priority should be given to teachers’ personal strengths that contribute to developing teacher resilience, such as self-efficacy, professional identity, commitment to, and love for the teaching profession ( Gu and Day, 2007 ; Gu and Li, 2013 ; Kostoulas and Lämmerer, 2018 , 2020 ; Li et al, 2019 ; Fan et al, 2021 ; Gong et al, 2021 ). EFL teachers with stronger self-efficacy showed more positive perceptions of teachers’ capacities to complete English teaching tasks, successfully impart knowledge, and strategically engage students in classroom activities ( Liu et al, 2021 ) and were willing to exert their agency to manage various teaching adversities ( Huang, 2021 ; Huang and Yip, 2021 ). Interview data also revealed that some EFL teachers (i.e., Teachers A and C) showed love for their job and higher professional identity, and they viewed teaching as a challenging but happy profession.…”

“…There were cohorts of risk factors, such as bad classroom discipline, students’ misbehavior, heavy workloads, long working hours, and competition among teachers, which affected the psychological and physical development of EFL teachers. Nevertheless, teachers with unique histories, personalities, identities, and motives ( Ushioda, 2020 ), could exercise their agency, take potential approaches to avoid or respond to these challenges ( Chu et al, 2021 ; Huang, 2021 ; Liu et al, 2021 ), and grow into more resilient persons. Furthermore, teaching was a relatively stable profession in Chinese educational contexts ( Gu and Li, 2013 ; Li et al, 2019 ), and some national policies related to EFL teachers’ professional development were implemented and attempted to nurture qualified teachers and improve their working conditions ( Gao and Xu, 2014 ; Liu and Li, 2020 ).…”

Chinese University EFL Teachers' Perceived Support, Innovation, and Teaching Satisfaction in Online Teaching Environments: The Mediation of Teaching Efficacy

“…Although EFL teachers were found highly efficacious in using different teaching strategies and organising various classroom activities (Choi and Lee, 2016), very little is known about their teaching efficacy and related psychological factors in online teaching environments (Liu et al, 2021). Based on the aforementioned literature, the following hypotheses were established.…”

“…Although previous studies have emphasised the significance of teaching efficacy and its relations to teaching environments and performances at different educational levels, there still remains inconsistency in the relationships between these variables in different educational environments. As researchers have pointed out that online teaching places teachers in a more complex environment that is different from traditional face-to-face instructions, an examination of teaching efficacy and the related variables in online environments is needed (Corry and Stella, 2018;Liu et al, 2021). Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the relationships between Chinese EFL teachers' teaching efficacy, perceived teaching support, innovation, and teaching satisfaction in online teaching environments in higher education.…”