Teacher Self-Efficacy and Collective Teacher Efficacy: Relations with Perceived Job Resources and Job Demands, Feeling of Belonging, and Teacher Engagement

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how collective teacher efficacy and teacher self-efficacy were related to teachers' perceptions of job resources and job demands in the working environment at school, teachers' feeling of belonging and teacher engagement. Three job resources were included: positive and supportive relations with colleagues, positive and supportive relations with the school leadership, and shared goals and values. Three job demands were also included: discipline problems, time pressure, and student diversity. Participants in the study were seven hundred and sixty teachers in elementary school (grade 1-7) and middle school (grade 8-10). Data were analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis and SEM analyses. The SEM analysis revealed that all job resources were positively associated with collective efficacy and belonging whereas teacher self-efficacy was positively associated with teacher engagement. The SEM analyses also indicated that the job resources were indirectly associated with teacher self-efficacy, mediated through collective efficacy and that collective efficacy was indirectly associated with engagement, mediated through teacher self-efficacy.