Preservice teachers’ culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs

Source: Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 23, Issue 7, October 2007, Pages 1086-1101

Guided by the theoretical and empirical research on self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs, and the Culturally Responsive Teaching Competencies [Siwatu, K.O. (2006a). The development of the culturally responsive teaching competencies: Implications for teacher education. Manuscript under review], two measures—the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (CRTSE) and the Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcome Expectancy (CRTOE) Scale—were developed and administered to a sample of preservice teachers in the Midwest.

The findings from this study suggest that preservice teachers are more efficacious in their ability to help students feel like important members of the classroom and develop positive, personal relationships with their students, than they are in their ability to communicate with English Language Learners. Preservice teachers’ culturally responsive teaching outcome expectations was highest for the possibility that a positive teacher–student relationship can be established by building a sense of trust in their students. Item-specific means were lowest among the preservice teachers for the possibility that encouraging students to use their native language will help to maintain students’ cultural identity. The implications for these findings for both research and teacher education are discussed.