The career development of preservice and inservice teachers why teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs matter

In 1977, Albert Bandura introduced the construct of self-Efficacy in his often-cited article “Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change.” Bandura (1997) defined self-Efficacy as “beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (p. 3). Stated differently, self-Efficacy is an individual’s belief about what he or she can do successfully (Bong, 2006). Despite the construct’s brief history, a growing body of empiricalevidence supporting Bandura’s theory of self-Efficacy and the construct’s ability to predict future behavior has led to its increased popularity. In the past 36 years, educational researchers have examined the construct of self-Efficacy in the context of teaching (e.g., Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) and the antecedents and consequences of a teacher’s self-Efficacy beliefs (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2007; Woolfolk Hoy & Davis, 2006). In this context, teacher self-Efficacy is defined as “individuals’ beliefs in their capabilities to perform specific teaching tasks at a specified level of quality in a specified situation” (Dellinger, Bobbett, Oliver, & Ellett, 2008, p. 752).