Date of Award

12-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Executive Leadership

First Supervisor

Susan Schultz

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the relationships between preschool teacher self-efficacy, as measured by the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) of years of early childhood teaching experience, and teacher outcomes as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Also considered was whether or not self-efficacy differed as a function of program setting. Early prekindergarten program (EPK) and universal prekindergarten program (UPK) (n = 89) lead teachers completed the TSES, representing a cross-section of all 3 and 4-year-old preschool lead teachers in a mid-sized urban district. Teachers completed the TSES via SurveyMonkey. CLASS observations were conducted as part of a larger ongoing evaluation. Teacher self-efficacy was not significantly correlated with years of early childhood teaching experience. However, overall, teacher self-efficacy was negatively correlated with years of teaching experience outside of the birth to second grade setting (r = –23, p < .05) and positively correlated with the classroom organization domain (r = .21, p <.05) and overall CLASS scores (r = .22, p < .05). School district preschool teachers reported a significantly higher overall teacher self-efficacy compared to community-based organization (CBO) preschool teachers. This study adds to the current body of empirical literature focused on teacher self-efficacy and early childhood education by solely focusing on EPK/UPK teacher self-efficacy. Future studies should explore the potential relationship between job satisfaction and self-efficacy in both lead and assistant preschool teachers to inform interventions designed to increase job satisfaction and teacher self-efficacy.

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