Exploring the Relationship Between Teacher Spirituality and Teacher Self-efficacy

Abstract

There often exists an immense disparity between the idealized goals of classroom teachers and the actual shortcomings of these educators. Strategies have been devised and programs have been implemented to enable teachers to be successful; however, these practices often lack the empowerment to sustain teachers through the arduous tasks and demands of being an educator. Teacher education programs, professional development, and teacher curriculum are often- times not designed to equip teachers to overcome adversity and discouragement, let alone thrive in the teaching profession. The question is, then, “Why do some teachers persevere through adversity, even moving beyond toward excellence in the profession?” The research on teacher effectiveness has largely examined the techniques and strategies that equip teachers to be effective, but there is very lit- tle research that has investigated the effect of teacher spirituality upon teachers’ beliefs regarding their own efficacy (teacher self-efficacy). A study was conducted which included 333 teacher participants from 2 school districts in San Gabriel Valley, California, representing elementary, middle, and high schools (Barsh 2015). The researcher sought to answer the following questions: Does spiritual- ity impact teacher effectiveness? If so, then how does spirituality impact teacher self-efficacy?