Self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers in teaching first reading and writing and mathematics

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between primary school pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in teaching Mathematics and First Reading and Writing courses. The sample consists of 484 1st and 4th grade pre-service teachers selected from four universities in Turkey. In the study, Mathematics and First Reading and Writing Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale were used as data collection tools. Besides descriptive statistical techniques, Independent Sample T-test was used to determine whether the pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs differed according to some factors and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the pre-service teachers’ beliefs in teaching Math and First Reading and Writing. As a result of the research, it was found that the levels of self-efficacy beliefs of the primary school pre-service teachers in two courses were found to be high, that there was no significant difference according to gender, that the self-efficacy beliefs of the 4th grade pre-service teachers were higher in the Mathematics teaching, and that the self-efficacy beliefs of the pre-service teachers who chose the profession voluntarily were higher for teaching Mathematics. It was also revealed that there was a moderate positive relationship between self-efficacy beliefs of the pre-service teachers in teaching for both courses.