Teacher Efficacy Scale 1

Abstract

The Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) is a foundational psychometric scale designed to measure the beliefs of educators regarding their ability to influence student learning and outcomes. Originally developed by Gibson and Dembo (1984) and subsequently refined by Woolfolk and Hoy (1990), the long form (22 items) assesses an educator’s personal sense of competence (Personal Efficacy) and their belief in the general power of teaching to overcome external factors (Teaching Efficacy). The scale uses a 6-point Likert scale format to capture frank opinions concerning statements about organizations, people, and the teaching process, providing valuable insight into the psychological factors underlying instructional effectiveness and persistence.

Keywords

Teacher efficacy, Personal Efficacy, Teaching Efficacy, self-efficacy, educational psychology, teacher beliefs, psychometric scale, teacher attitudes

Authors

Sarah Gibson, Myron Dembo, Anita E. Woolfolk, Wayne K. Hoy

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Teacher Efficacy Scale is to gather comprehensive information regarding the actual attitudes and beliefs held by educators concerning their professional capabilities and the potential impact of teaching on student achievement. By presenting a series of statements related to classroom management, instructional delivery, and the influence of external factors (like home environment), the instrument aims to quantify an educator’s sense of self-efficacy in the educational setting. These measurements are crucial for understanding teacher motivation, burnout, and responsiveness to educational reforms.

The scale serves as a diagnostic tool in educational research, allowing researchers to explore the relationship between teacher beliefs and student performance. The confidential nature of the responses ensures that educators provide their frank opinions without fear of professional repercussions, thereby enhancing the validity of the collected data.

Construct

The scale measures the construct of Teacher Efficacy, which is rooted in Albert Bandura’s broader theory of self-efficacy. Teacher efficacy refers specifically to the teacher’s belief in his or her own ability to organize and execute courses of action required to successfully accomplish a specific teaching task in a particular context. The 22-item version typically differentiates between two key orthogonal factors:

• Personal Efficacy (PE): This dimension reflects the teacher’s self-perception of their instructional skills and competence. It measures the extent to which a teacher believes they possess the necessary skills and training to bring about student learning and manage classroom behavior effectively.
• Teaching Efficacy (TE) / General Efficacy: This dimension reflects the belief that teaching, in general, can overcome powerful environmental forces (such as home background or student aptitude) that might otherwise hinder learning. It is a more general belief about the power of teaching as a profession, independent of the individual teacher’s specific capabilities.

These two constructs—personal competence and the general effectiveness of teaching—are considered essential components for predicting teacher behavior, effort, and resilience in the face of challenges.

Validity

The original work by Gibson and Dembo (1984) focused specifically on the construct validation of the scale. Their findings supported the theoretical distinction between the two factors: Personal Efficacy and General Teaching Efficacy. Subsequent research utilizing the Woolfolk and Hoy (1990) adaptation has continued to demonstrate robust construct validity, showing that scores on the TES correlate meaningfully with related constructs such as instructional strategies, classroom management success, and persistence when dealing with difficult students.

The scale’s items are designed to cover a broad range of teaching activities, including handling disruptive students, adjusting assignments, improving retention, and countering negative home influences, thereby establishing strong content validity. The consistent replication of the two-factor structure across diverse samples of teachers provides strong evidence for the scale’s structural validity within the field of educational psychology.

Reliability

The Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) has generally demonstrated acceptable to strong internal consistency reliability across numerous studies. While specific Cronbach’s alpha values vary depending on the sample population (e.g., in-service vs. prospective teachers), reliability coefficients typically range from the mid-.70s to the low-.90s for the composite scale. Reliability is often reported separately for the two subscales, with Personal Efficacy generally showing higher internal consistency than Teaching Efficacy.

The scale’s stability over time (test-retest reliability) has also been examined, indicating that teacher efficacy beliefs, while subject to change based on experience and professional development, are relatively stable psychological traits over short to moderate periods, further supporting the scale’s utility as a consistent measure of teacher beliefs.

Factor Analysis

The foundational research by Gibson and Dembo (1984) established the two-factor model of teacher efficacy through exploratory factor analysis. This two-factor structure—Personal Efficacy (PE) and Teaching Efficacy (TE)—has been the dominant model for the TES and is crucial for its interpretation. Items related to specific skills, training, and direct instructional success load onto the Personal Efficacy factor, while items related to the impact of external forces (like home environment) or the general limitations of the teaching profession load onto the Teaching Efficacy factor.

The adaptation by Woolfolk and Hoy (1990), which resulted in the 22-item form, confirmed this two-factor structure in samples of prospective teachers. Maintaining this clear orthogonal separation is vital for research, as the two factors often predict different teaching behaviors and outcomes. For instance, high Personal Efficacy is linked to greater effort, while Teaching Efficacy reflects broader professional optimism.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychometric scale (Questionnaire)

Format: 22 items using a 6-point Likert scale (1=Strongly Agree, 6=Strongly Disagree). Reverse scoring is applied to 12 items (1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 22).

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Educators (In-service and prospective teachers)

Age Group: Adult (Professionals in education)

Population Details: Used extensively with K-12 educators and university students enrolled in teacher education programs.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their personal opinion about each statement by circling the appropriate response on the 6-point scale. Scores are calculated by summing responses, with specific items being reverse-scored to mitigate response bias. The total score is often analyzed alongside subscale scores for Teaching Efficacy (TE) and Personal Efficacy (PE).

Keywords

Teacher beliefs, educational effectiveness, instructional confidence, efficacy measurement, Gibson & Dembo, Woolfolk & Hoy, professional development, self-concept

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence is typically directed through the authors’ institutional affiliations (e.g., Ohio State University for W. K. Hoy or A. E. Woolfolk).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES), particularly the 22-item version adapted by Woolfolk and Hoy, is widely used in academic research and is often available for non-commercial research and educational purposes without a fee. Users should, however, consult the authors’ websites for the most current usage guidelines and permissions. The original scale was conceptualized and validated in 1984 by Gibson and Dembo, with the widely utilized 22-item version being published in 1990 by Woolfolk and Hoy.

Reference’s

• Gibson‚ S. & Dembo‚ M.‚ (1984). Teacher efficacy: A construct validation. Journal of Educational Psychology‚ 76(4)‚ 569-582.
• Woolfolk‚ A. E.‚ & Hoy‚ W. K. (1990). Prospective teachers’ sense of efficacy and beliefs about control. Journal of Educational Psychology‚ 82‚ 81-91. Originally based on the Teacher Efficacy Scale developed by S. Gibson & M. Dembo (1984). Teacher Efficacy: a construct validation. Journal of Educational Psychology‚ 76‚ 569-582.
• The instrument can be found at: http://anitawoolfolkhoy.com/instruments/
• Additional resources are available at: http://u.osu.edu/hoy.17/research/instruments/ and http://u.osu.edu/hoy.17/publications/

The original PDF of the 22-item scale can be downloaded here: http://anitawoolfolkhoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TES22-1u195b1.pdf

Items of the Teacher Efficacy Scale 1

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Long Form

A number of statements about organizations‚ people‚ and teaching are presented below. The purpose is to gather information regarding the actual attitudes of educators concerning these statements. There are no correct or incorrect answers. We are interested only in your frank opinions. Your responses will remain confidential.

INSTRUCTIONS: Please indicate your personal opinion about each statement by circling the appropriate response at the right of each statement.

KEY:

1=Strongly Agree‚ 2=Moderately Agree‚ 3=Agree slightly‚ more than disagree‚ 4=Disagree slightly more than agree‚ 5=Moderately Disagree‚ 6=Strongly Disagree

Reverse scored items: 1‚ 5‚ 6‚ 7‚ 8‚ 11‚ 12‚ 14‚ 15*‚ 16‚ 18‚ 19‚ and 22

*Note that item 15 is the only reversed item that is from the Teaching Efficacy‚ not Personal Efficacy scale.

1. When a student does better than usually‚ many times it is because I exert a little extra effort.
2. The hours in my class have little influence on students compared to the influence of their home environment.
3. The amount a student can learn is primarily related to family background.
4. If students aren’t disciplined at home‚ they aren’t likely to accept any discipline.
5. I have enough training to deal with almost any learning problem.
6. When a student is having difficulty with an assignment‚ I am usually able to adjust it his/her level.
7. When a student gets a better grade than he/she usually gets‚ it is usually because I found better ways of teaching that student.
8. When I really try‚ I can get through to most difficult students.
9. A teacher is very limited in what he/she can achieve because a student’s home environment influences on his/her achievement. large
10. Teachers are not a very powerful influence on student achievement when all factors are considered.
11. When the grades of my students improve‚ it is usually because I found more effective approaches.
12. If a student masters a new concept quickly‚ this might be because I knew the necessary steps in teaching that concept.
13. If parents would do more for their children‚ I could do more.
14. If a student did not remember information I gave in a previous lesson‚ I would know how to increase his/her retention in the next lesson.
15. The influences of a student’s home experiences can be overcome by good teaching.
16. If a student in my class becomes disruptive and noisy‚ I feel assured that I know some techniques to redirect him/her quickly.
17. Even a teacher with good teaching abilities may not reach many students.
18. If one of my students couldn’t do a class assignment‚ I would be able to accurately assess whether the assignment was at the correct level of difficulty.
19. If I really try hard‚ I can get through to even the most difficult or unmotivated students.
20. When it comes right down to it‚ a teacher really can’t do much because most of a student’s motivation and performance depends on his or her home environment.
21. Some students need to be placed in slower groups so they are not subjected to unrealistic expectations.
22. My teacher training program and/or experience has given me the necessary skills to be an effective teacher