Teachers’ effectiveness has an important role in students’ learning and reaching educational goals. Enhancing teachers’ efficacy beliefs is considered among the ways that increase teaching effectiveness. Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk-Hoy and Hoy (1998) defined teacher self-efficacy as teachers’ beliefs in their capability to perform teaching tasks effectively. While efficacy beliefs are more malleable at the early stages of learning (Bandura, 1977), it is more resistant to change once established (Tschannen-Moran, et al., 1998). Therefore, it is important to establish high teaching efficacy during pre-service teacher training to maintain these beliefs longer. Beside their courses, pre-service teachers construct their teaching efficacy beliefs through teaching practice period. Pre-service teachers may underestimate the complexity of teaching task; however, during teaching practice period, they face with the realities and sometimes this situation make them disappointed about their performance and may decrease their teaching efficacy (Tschannen-Moran, et al., 1998). Constructive mentoring may help to prevent this kind of undesirable decrease in self-efficacy.  

Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997) addresses four sources through which self-efficacy beliefs are developed from; enactive mastery, vicarious experience or role modelling others, social persuasion, and physiological states. By observing and comparing the performance of others who they feel as in similar position, people can alter their self-efficacy (Usher & Pajares, 2009). Moreover, receiving verbal praise from people they value also positively influence self-efficacy (Usher & Pajares, 2009). Mentoring can be associated with the modelling and social persuasion. In order to build pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy in a desired way, mentor teachers are expected to be well at least in modelling and providing feedback. Additionally, mentor teachers should guide mentee regarding planning, instructional strategies, management strategies and provide information about system requirements (Hudson, 2006).

Succeeding challenging tasks also gradually contribute to people’s self-efficacy through gained enactive experience (Bandura, 1977). Therefore, experiencing more teaching hours in real classroom settings may help pre-service teachers build teaching efficacy In order to promote pre-service teachers’ SE beliefs, Wan (2005) suggested that pre-service teachers should be provided with opportunities for classroom teaching to gain mastery experience, by guidance and support from mentor teacher, by more opportunities for vicarious experiences through observing mentor teacher in classroom, and  by performance feedbacks emphasizing positive attributes. Additionally, Tschannen-Moran et al. (1998) indicates that, pre-service teachers should experience teaching practice in gradually increasing complexity level. For example, less crowded classrooms and well-equipped schools in terms of availability of resources are better at the beginning. Concerning gender difference, studies conducted in Turkey revealed no significant gender effect on pre-service science teachers’ efficacy beliefs (e.g. Aydin & Boz, 2010: Gencer & Cakiroglu, 2007).

Accordingly, this study aimed first to explore the pre-service science teachers’ perceptions of mentoring, and, secondly, to investigate the role of mentoring, gender, teaching hours, and resources in predicting pre-service science teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. Although mentoring has an effect on pre-service science teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, it is rarely studied in Turkey. Moreover, there is a gap in literature about actual situation in mentoring.

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