How different levels of conceptualization and measurement affect the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and students’ academic achievement

Despite the common idea that teachers’ self-efficacy (TSE) is associated with achievement, research findings in this area are ambiguous at best. In the current study, we took a multilevel perspective on the relationship between TSE and students’ academic achievement and evaluated how different levels of conceptualization and measurement of TSE may affect this association. General and student-specific TSE scales and standardized achievement tests were administered among a sample of 360 fourth-to-sixth grade students and 49 teachers from 19 regular elementary schools across the Netherlands. Doubly latent multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test for direct relationships. Results indicated that student-level TSE was positively associated, and classroom-level TSE negatively associated with reading and math achievement. Teachers’ aggregated student-specific self-efficacy was only associated with average classroom achievement in mathematics. These results illustrate how further specification of TSE scales and addressing the appropriate level of analysis may help to better explain variation in student academic outcomes and teacher self-efficacy

From externalizing student behavior to student-specific teacher self-efficacy:The role of teacher-perceived conflict and closeness in the student–teacher relationship

Data gathered from a longitudinal study within regular upper elementary schools were used to evaluate a theoretical model within which teachers’ perceptions of conflict and closeness in the student–teacher relationship were considered as the intermediary mechanisms by which individual students’ externalizing behavior generates changes in teachers’ student-specific self-efficacy beliefs (TSE) across teaching domains. Surveys were administered among a Dutch sample of 524 third-to-sixth graders and their 69 teachers. Longitudinal mediation models indicated that individual students’ externalizing behavior generally predicted higher levels of teacher-perceived conflict, which, in turn, resulted in lower student-specific TSE across teaching domains (i.e., instructional strategies, behavior management, student engagement, and emotional support). Teacher-perceived closeness, however, was not found to mediate the link between externalizing student behavior and student-specific TSE. Instead, support was found for an alternative model representing the hypothesis that TSE, irrespective of teaching domain, mediated behavior-related changes in teachers’ perceptions of closeness in the student–teacher relationship

The Relational Side of Teachers’ Self-efficacy:Assimilation and Contrast Effects of Classroom Relational Climate on Teachers’ Self-Efficacy

Although much is known about the sources of teachers' self-efficacy (TSE), less attention has been paid to the social-contextual specificity of TSE and the processes influencing the relevance of TSE information sources. This study investigated both dyad-level relationships and the classroom relational climate as predictors of TSE at the student and classroom level. Additionally, we explored two competing hypotheses—assimilation and contrast—articulating how teachers use information conveyed by classroom relationship experiences as a heuristic to interpret relationship experiences with individual students as a TSE source. Elementary school teachers (N = 86; 72.05% female) completed the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale and Student-Specific Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale for randomly selected children (N = 687, 50.1% girls, Grades 3–6) from their classes. Doubly latent multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test for associations of Closeness and Conflict with TSE at both the student (L1) and classroom level (L2). Contextual effects, corresponding to associations of classroom-level Closeness and Conflict with TSE above the same associations at the student level, were calculated to test assimilation and contrast hypotheses. At L1, results indicated positive associations between Closeness and TSE and negative associations between Conflict and TSE. At L2, only Conflict was negatively associated with TSE. Consistent with the contrast hypothesis, the contextual effect of Closeness, but not Conflict, was negative and significant. Hence, teachers' judgments of a relatively close classroom relational climate may lead them to perceive relational closeness with individual students in a more negative light, resulting in lower levels of TSE toward these students

The Relational Side of Teachers’ Self-efficacy:Assimilation and Contrast Effects of Classroom Relational Climate on Teachers’ Self-Efficacy

Although much is known about the sources of teachers' self-efficacy (TSE), less attention has been paid to the social-contextual specificity of TSE and the processes influencing the relevance of TSE information sources. This study investigated both dyad-level relationships and the classroom relational climate as predictors of TSE at the student and classroom level. Additionally, we explored two competing hypotheses—assimilation and contrast—articulating how teachers use information conveyed by classroom relationship experiences as a heuristic to interpret relationship experiences with individual students as a TSE source. Elementary school teachers (N = 86; 72.05% female) completed the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale and Student-Specific Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale for randomly selected children (N = 687, 50.1% girls, Grades 3–6) from their classes. Doubly latent multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test for associations of Closeness and Conflict with TSE at both the student (L1) and classroom level (L2). Contextual effects, corresponding to associations of classroom-level Closeness and Conflict with TSE above the same associations at the student level, were calculated to test assimilation and contrast hypotheses. At L1, results indicated positive associations between Closeness and TSE and negative associations between Conflict and TSE. At L2, only Conflict was negatively associated with TSE. Consistent with the contrast hypothesis, the contextual effect of Closeness, but not Conflict, was negative and significant. Hence, teachers' judgments of a relatively close classroom relational climate may lead them to perceive relational closeness with individual students in a more negative light, resulting in lower levels of TSE toward these students