A cross sectional study of pre-service teacher efficacy throughout the training years

Teachers' judgments in their ability to motivate students and promote learning can play a vital role in determining a student's performance in the classroom and once a belief has been held for a long time, it can become difficult to change. Utilising a sample of 467 beginner and final year pre-service teachers training to become primary (elementary) and secondary teachers, the aim of this study was to examine to what extent pre-service teachers' level of teacher efficacy changed during their teacher training years. Results showed that the training courses for primary school teachers appeared to have no influence on teacher efficacy levels. Moreover, the results demonstrate that for secondary school pre-service teachers, the training courses increased their general teacher efficacy levels, however, decreased their personal teacher efficacy levels. The findings have implications for teacher training programs and future research.