Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine prospective science teachers’ self-efficacy about teaching and teaching practice experience as well as their ideas on mentoring. With this aim, 4 prospective science teachers from an eastern university in Turkey were selected for pre and post written-interviews. During the study, the prospective teachers were taking Teaching practice course from the third researcher of the study, and experiencing teaching in real elementary schools. In this qualitative study, the participants’ answers to the written questions will be coded in the light of Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive, and their self-efficacy regarding teaching and teaching practice with their ideas on mentoring will be examined before and after they took the course. Through examining and comparing their ideas on teaching and teaching experience course, prospective teachers’ self-efficacy will be deeply analyzed. The findings are expected to contribute to our understanding of prospective science teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching and teaching experience, and their ideas on mentoring. The implications of the findings will be discussed.

Outline info

Teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching is among the important topics in the literature as the teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching influence how effectively they teach (e.g., Tschannen‐Moran & McMaster, 2009). Ross (1994) underlines that teaching experience opportunities of prospective teachers during Teaching Practice courses bring about the most major differences on their self-efficacy.

Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) defines 4 sources of the development of self-efficacy: Mastery experiences; vicarious experiences; verbal persuasion; and physiological and emotional state. Among these sources, mastery experiences indicate that previous performances on a specific duty help people make comparison between the old and new, and develop self-efficacy during new performances. Vicarious experience, on the other hand, refers that people develop efficacy beliefs by comparing others’ performance who are in similar position. The other source that is called verbal persuasion defines the self-efficacy people gain through the verbal praises they received from the trusted others (Tschannen-Moran & McMaster, 2009). Physiological and emotional state defines that people’s physiological and emotional state including anxiety, stress, and fear has an influence on their self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). In the present study, prospective science teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching and teaching practice will be examined under these sources of the development of self-efficacy. As it is suggested in the literature, prospective teachers’ opportunities to teach during Teaching Experience courses are among the most effective sources of developing self-efficacy towards teaching (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). Tschannen-Moran et al. (1998) add that it is important that prospective teachers receive good mentoring during their teaching experience. Getting useful feedback from expert(s) and being leaded by them is necessary for their self-development. Hudson (2006) further adds that good mentors should help prospective teachers with effective lesson planning, selecting and practicing effective teaching methods, classroom management, and understanding the teaching program while being good models for them. Wan (2005) also states that it is important that prospective teachers give instruction in real classes to gain experience in teaching, and they need effective mentoring and positive feedback from experts.

Thus, in the present study, it was aimed to examine prospective science teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching and teaching practice as they gave instruction during the Teaching Experience course. Their ideas on mentoring will be also examined in order to understand how they make use of mentoring.

The study will explore the following research questions:

1. To what extent do prospective teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding teaching and teaching practice differ before and after taking Teaching Experience course?

2. What are the prospective teachers’ ideas about mentoring before and after taking Teaching Experience course?

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