Literature suggests that having pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge is not sufficient alone for teachers to be effective. Teachers’ beliefs about their abilities to positively influence student learning have been demonstrated to have a strong influence on teaching effectiveness (Knoblauch & Hoy, 2008). Indeed, teachers’ self-efficacy -teachers’ judgment of their capabilities to organize and carry out strategies necessary for successfully accomplishing a specific teaching task in a particular context- is found to be significantly linked to their classroom behavior and to student outcomes such as achievement (Ashton & Webb, 1986) and motivation (Midgley, Feldlaufer, & Eccles, 1989). In general, teachers with a strong sense of efficacy appear to be eager to try new strategies and methods to better meet students’ needs (Cousins & Walker, 2000) and show greater commitment to teaching (Coladarci, 1992). They do not give up easily in the face of difficulties and setbacks. A strong sense of self-efficacy helps teachers deal with a struggling student longer and become less critical of student errors (Ashton & Webb, 1986; Gibson & Dembo, 1984; Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk-Hoy & Hoy, 1998). On the other hand, teachers with low levels of self-efficacy tend to be less willing to work with students experiencing difficulties and tend to instruct the class as a whole. They are found to be less optimistic about student learning and to experience lower levels of job-satisfaction (Caprara, Barbaranelli, Steca, & Malone, 2006; Klassen, Bong, Usher, Chong, Huan, Wong, & Georgiou, 2009; Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk-Hoy, & Hoy, 1998). Thus, in order to raise effective teachers, it is important to develop teaching self-efficacy of pre-service science teachers.

In discussing development of self-efficacy, Bandura (1997), proposed four sources which help people to develop self-efficacy. The primary source of information is mastery experiences. Based on the early experiences, one may think that s/he is proficient to do or not to do a task. Vicarious experiences provided by social models involve observation of the behavior of others and the results of that behavior. Social persuasion is occurred verbally or nonverbally when people provide messages of “if I can do it so can you.” Emotional arousal, the fourth source of self-efficacy information, refers person’s feels about their personal abilities in a particular situation. Applied to pre-service teacher training, teacher education program is an important key in developing and enhancing teachers’ sense of efficacy.  The purpose of this study was to examine the  factors influencing pre-service science teachers' teaching self-efficacy beliefs to understand more clearly the concept of science teaching self-efficacy. The results of the study are hoped to provide valuable information about how pre-service science teachers develop teaching self-efficacy beliefs.

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