Thesis
Principal Approaches to the Use of Collective Teacher Efficacy: A Mixed Methods Study
Southern Cross University
Doctor of Education (EdD), Southern Cross University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25918/thesis.317
Metrics
Abstract
With school improvement a priority on Australian and Catholic education agendas, principals are positioned as the key drivers that influence the capability of teachers and foster environments where quality teaching and learning is enhanced. In this context, collective teacher efficacy has positively impacted teacher capacity and performance. When teachers believe, magic happens, and students achieve. Collective teacher efficacy refers to teachers' perceptions about their combined ability to improve student achievement. The construct is founded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory. While the consequences of the construct have been acknowledged through previous research, the use of collective efficacy to support school improvement requires greater attention. Accordingly, this thesis seeks to identify key leadership practices and enabling conditions that optimise collective teacher efficacy when the agenda is school improvement. An adapted exploratory sequential mixed methods design was used to gather qualitative and quantitative data through three study phases. A pragmatism paradigm was adopted to explain and support the theoretical and methodological decisions supporting this study. In Phase 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five Catholic secondary school principals to explore their understanding of collective teacher efficacy and the leadership practices and enabling conditions they prioritise to develop the construct in their schools. In Phase 2, a Likert scale questionnaire examining the leadership practices and enabling conditions prioritised by the principals in their schools and the Collective Teacher Beliefs Scale was used to measure the construct and its development in five Queensland Catholic schools. Sixty-four teachers completed the survey. Phase 3 consisted of follow-up semi-structured interviews with four principals to explore key findings from the preceding Phase 1 interviews and the Phase 2 teacher survey. Findings from this study revealed that the use of collective teacher efficacy when the agenda is school improvement can be explained by Bandura’s model of triadic reciprocal causation. A further iteration of the model, which includes the seven categories of leadership practices and five enabling conditions drawn from the experiences of the participating principals, is presented. Moreover, this study provides principals with actionable knowledge that can be prioritised in their school contexts when using collective teacher efficacy to support their school’s improvement agenda.
Details
- Title
- Principal Approaches to the Use of Collective Teacher Efficacy: A Mixed Methods Study
- Creators
- Matt Hodge
- Contributors
- David Lynch (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityLewes Peddell (Supervisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Education (EdD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Education (EdD), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University
- Number of pages
- xvii, 290
- Identifiers
- 991013150613402368
- Copyright
- © M Hodge 2023
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Education
- Resource Type
- Thesis