Sources of Social Cognitive Theory and Educational Knowledge for Student Teachers’ Self-efficacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46328/ijonse.6419Keywords:
Teacher efficacy, Sources of self-efficacy, Educational knowledge, Teacher education, Structural equation modelsAbstract
The goal is to analyze not only the significance of the sources contained in the social cognitive theory, but also the importance of factors outside the theory in the construction of the teacher's self-efficacy. Less attention has been given to the assimilation of educational knowledge. The data was collected from student teachers participating in class teacher training programs in Finland (N = 192). The data was analyzed using the Jamovi program and structural equation modeling. According to the results, the key factors are specifically the student teacher's own experiences and the positive feelings that support them. Regarding the knowledge factors, only the intentional use of educational knowledge also builds the subjects' self-efficacy beliefs. The spontaneous use of educational knowledge and other knowledge-related components of training teachers did not emerge as strongly. The identified key factors are in a logical and comprehensible relationship with Finnish teacher training programs, which emphasizes the application of educational knowledge and the teacher's own experiences. In the future, when it comes to the scientific teaching practice included in teacher training courses - in addition to the planned use of educational knowledge - more attention should also be given to the spontaneous and situational use of educational knowledge.
References
Allen, J. M., & Wright, S. E. (2014). Integrating theory and practice in the pre-service teacher education practicum. Teachers and Teaching, 20(2), 136-151.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2013.848568
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.
Bapst, M. S., Genoud, P. A., & Hascoët, M. (2022). Taking a step towards understanding interactions between teacher efficacy in behavior management and the social learning environment. A two-level multilevel analysis. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 38, 1129-1144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-022-00647-4
Bjerke, A. H., & Solomon, Y. (2020). Developing self-efficacy in teaching mathematics: Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the role of subject knowledge. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(5), 692–705. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2019.1595720
Clark, S., & Newberry, M. (2019). Are we building preservice teacher self-efficacy? A large-scale study examining teacher education experiences. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 47(1), 32-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2018.1497772
Donche, V., & van Petegem, P. (2009). The development of learning patterns of student teachers: across-sectional and longitudinal study. Higher Education, 57(4), 463-475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9156-y
Durksen, T. L., Klassen, R. M., & Daniels, L. M. (2017). Motivation and collaboration: The keys to a developmental framework for teachers’ professional learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 53-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.05.011.
Glackin, M., & Hohenstein, J. (2018). Teachers’ self-efficacy: Progressing qualitative analysis. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 41(3), 271-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2017.1295940
Gordon, C., & Debus, R. (2002). Developing deep learning approaches and personal teaching efficacy within a preservice teacher education context. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(4), 483-511. https://doi.org/10.1348/00070990260377488
Granziera, H., & Perera, H. N. (2019). Relations among teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, engagement, and work satisfaction: A social cognitive view. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 58(4), 75-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.02.003
Hagenauer, G., Hascher, T., & Volet, S. E. (2015). Teacher emotions in the classroom: Associations with students’ engagement, classroom discipline and the interpersonal teacher-student relationship. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 30(4), 385-403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-015-0250-0
Hascher, T., & Hagenauer, G. (2016). Openness to theory and its importance for pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy, emotions, and classroom behaviour in the teaching practicum. International Journal of Educational Research, 77, 15-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.02.003
Hoi, C., Zhou, M., & Teo, T. (2017). Measuring efficacy sources: Development and validation of the sources of teacher efficacy questionnaire (STEQ) for Chinese teachers. Psychology in the Schools, 54(7), 756-769. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22025
Holzberger, D., Philipp, A., & Kunter, M. (2013). How teachers’ self-efficacy is related to instructional quality: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 774-786. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032198
İlhan, N., Yılmaz, Z. A., & Dede, H. (2015). Attitudes of pre-service science teachers towards educational research and their science teaching efficacy beliefs in Turkey. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 14(2), 183-193. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/15.14.183
Jakhelln, R., Eklund, G., Aspfors, J., Bjørndal, K., & Stølen, G. (2021). Newly qualified teachers’ understandings of research-based teacher education practices: Two cases from Finland and Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 65(1), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2019.1659402
Klassen, R. M., & Chiu, M. M. (2010). Effects on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction: Teacher gender, years of experience, and job stress. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 741-756. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019237
König, J. (2013). First comes the theory, then the practice? On the acquisition of general pedagogical knowledge during initial teacher education. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11, 999-1028. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-013-9420-1
Leonard, J., Barnes-Johnson, J., Dantley, S. J., & Kimber, C. T. (2011). Teaching science inquiry in urban contexts: The role of elementary preservice teachers’ beliefs. The Urban Review, 43(1), 124-150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-010-0173-7
Lin, H., Gorrell, J., & Taylor, J. (2002). Influence of culture and education on U.S. and Taiwan pre-service teachers’ efficacy beliefs. The Journal of Educational Research, 96(1), 37- 46. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220670209598789
Lumpe, A., Czerniak, C., Haney, J., & Beltyukova, S. (2012) Beliefs about teaching science: The relationship between elementary teachers’ participation in professional development and student achievement. International Journal of Science Education, 34(2), 153-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2010.551222
Ma, K., Chutiyami, M., & Nicoll, S. (2021). Transitioning into the first year of teaching: Changes and sources of teacher self-efficacy. The Australian Educational Researcher, 49(2), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00481-5
Menon, D., & Sadler, T. D. (2016). Preservice elementary teachers’ science self-efficacy beliefs and science content knowledge. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27(6), 649-673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-016-9479-y
Morris, D. B., Usher, E. L., & Chen, J. A. (2017). Reconceptualizing the sources of teaching self-efficacy: A critical review of emerging literature. Educational Psychology Review, 29(4), 795-833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9378-y
Narayanan, M., Ordynans, J. G., Wang, A., McCluskey, M. S., Elivert, N., Shields, A. L., & Ferrell, A. C. (2023). Putting the self in self-efficacy: Personal factors in the development of early teacher self-efficacy. Education and Urban Society, 55(2), 175-200. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131245211062528
Ng, W., Nicholas, H., & Williams, A. (2010). School experience influences on pre-service teachers’ evolving beliefs about effective teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 278-289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.03.010
O’Neill, S., & Stephenson, J. (2012). Exploring Australian pre-service teachers sense of efficacy, its sources, and some possible influences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(4), 535-545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.01.008
Oosterheert, I. E., Vermunt, J. D., & Denessen, E. (2002). Assessing orientations to learning to teach. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(1), 41-64. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709902158766
Palmer, D. (2006). Sources of self-efficacy in a science methods course for primary teacher education students. Research in Science Education, 36(4), 337–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-005-9007-0
Palmer, D. (2011). Sources of efficacy information in an inservice program for elementary teachers. Science Education, 95(4), 577-600. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20434
Palmer, D., Dixon, J., & Archer, J. (2015). Changes in science teaching self-efficacy among primary teacher education students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(12), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2015v40n12.3
Pfitzner-Eden, F. (2016). Why do I feel more confident? Bandura’s sources predict preservice teachers’ latent changes in teacher self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01486
Phan, N. T. T., & Locke, T. (2015). Sources of self-efficacy of Vietnamese EFL teachers: A qualitative study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 52, 73-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.09.006
Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2007). Dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and relations with strain factors, perceived collective teacher efficacy, and teacher burnout. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 611-625. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.611
Swackhamer, L., Koellner, K., Basile, C., & Kimbrough, D. (2009). Increasing the self-efficacy of inservice teachers through content knowledge. Teacher Education Quarterly, 36(2), 63-78.
Thomas, K. E., & Mucherah, W. M. (2016). The contextual difference: Developing preservice teacher efficacy through immersive learning experiences. Education and Urban Society, 48(4), 364-383. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124514533795
Tschannen-Moran, M., & Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive concept. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 783-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00036-1
Uzuntiryaki, E. (2008). Exploring the sources of turkish pre-service chemistry teachers’ chemistry self-efficacy beliefs. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 33(6), 12-28. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2008v33n6.2
van Rooij, E. C. M., Fokkens-Bruinsma, M., & Goedhart, M. (2019). Preparing science undergraduates for a teaching career: Sources of their teacher self-efficacy. Teacher Educator, 54, 270-294. https://doi.org/10. 1080/ 08878 730. 2019. 16063 74
Wang, L. Y., Tan, L.-S, Li, J.-Y., Tan, I. & Lim, X.-F- (2017). A qualitative inquiry on sources of teacher efficacy in teaching low-achieving students. Journal of Educational Research, 110(2), 140-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2015.1052953
Woolfolk Hoy, A. & Burke Spero, R. (2005). Changes in teacher efficacy during the early years of teaching: A comparison of four measures. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 343-356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.01.007
Woolfolk Hoy, A., & Davis, H. A. (2005). Teachers' sense of efficacy and its influence on the achievement of adolescents. In T. Urdan & F. Pajares (Eds.), Adolescence and education: Volume V: Self-efficacy beliefs during adolescence (pp. 117-137). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981-1015. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626801.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal on Studies in Education

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Articles may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Authors alone are responsible for the contents of their articles. The journal owns the copyright of the articles. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of the research material.
The author(s) of a manuscript agree that if the manuscript is accepted for publication in the International Journal on Studies in Education (IJonSE), the published article will be copyrighted using a Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” license. This license allows others to freely copy, distribute, and display the copyrighted work, and derivative works based upon it, under certain specified conditions.
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to include any images or artwork for which they do not hold copyright in their articles, or to adapt any such images or artwork for inclusion in their articles. The copyright holder must be made explicitly aware that the image(s) or artwork will be made freely available online as part of the article under a Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” license.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
