The relationship between university learning experiences and English teaching self-efficacy: Perspectives of five final-year pre-service English teachers

Abstract

No literature exists on English teaching efficacy or selfefficacy or on pre-service teachers' English teaching self-efficacy and its relationship to pre-service teacher education. This project addressed this conceptual and methodological gap in current teacher efficacy research literature. Five pre-service English teachers in their final year of double degree Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Arts teacher education programmes at an Australian university were interviewed about their self-efficacy for specific English teaching skills. Results suggest that the pre-service teachers see a significant relationship between their self-efficacy to teach English and their degree. The data suggests that the relationship between university learning experiences and English teaching self-efficacy is determined by the nature of those experiences.