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The current study examines the effects of a mathematics methodology course on the efficacy beliefs of pre-service elementary teachers, with a focus on identifying (1) how the teaching efficacy of these teachers is affected by the course, (2) teachers perceptions of their skills, competence, and ability to teach mathematics, and (3) the aspects of the teaching context that affect the self-efficacy beliefs of these teachers upon exposure to the methodology course.

Chapter 2 presents an assessment and synthesis of available research studies surrounding teacher self-efficacy beliefs and the teaching of mathematics. Specifically, the chapter assesses the literature on the following areas: Banduras theory of social learning; self-efficacy; sources of self-efficacy; self-efficacy in the pre-service teacher context; teaching efficacy; summary of research studies on teacher self-efficacy; the role of the cognitive domain in mathematics teachers performance; and effectiveness in the teaching of mathematics.

Banduras Theory of Social Learning

A number of studies (e.g., Berna & Gunhan, 2011; Bleicher, 2004; Cheong, 2010; Czerniak, 1990; Isiksal, 2005) have demonstrated the capacity of Banduras theory of social learning in providing an important framework for investigating the dimension of personal science or mathematics teaching self-efficacy from a cognitive science standpoint.

As acknowledged by Bleicher (2004), Banduras theory states that individuals are motivated to perform an action if they believe the action will have a favourable result (outcome expectation), and they are confident that they can perform that action successfully (self-efficacy expectation) (p. 384). From a widespread appraisal of the literature, Bandura (1997) was of the opinion that the evidence across studies demonstrated reliability in not only showing that perceived self-efficacy adds substantially to the intensity of motivation and performance achievements, but also in illuminating how the social influences that affect the performance of individuals are to a large extent dependent on psychological mechanisms.

This view is consistent with the perspective of most social cognitive theorists, that self-efficacy beliefs strongly influence the choices people make, the effort they expend, and the degree of anxiety they experience (Isiksal, 2005, p. 8). Consequently, as postulated by Bandura (1977), self-efficacy beliefs and expectations are critical in the decisions made by individuals on whether to engage in a particular task or activity, how much effort they are willing to expend in completing the task, and also how much effort they are willing to display in the face of challenges.

The basis of the theory is predicated upon the assumptions that individuals are creators as well as outcomes of social arrangements and that people exercise self-influence and hence function generatively and proactively rather than merely reactively (Berna & Gunhan, 2011; Isiksal, 2005). Other important elements of the theory include the presuppositions that social structures are developed by effectual human action, and that structural applications inflict restrictions and afford resources and opportunity applications for the individual development and operation of the human agency (Bleicher, 2004; Ediger, 2012).

A strand of existing literature demonstrates that Banduras theory of social learning and attendant self-efficacy expectations have been used in studies aimed at investigating why the performance attainment of individuals might differ irrespective of the fact that they may have similar knowledge and skills (Albayrak & Unal, 2011; Enochs, Smith, & Pintrich, 1997; Henson, 2002; Isiksal, 2005; Pajares, 1996).

Self-Efficacy

First introduced in the mainstream psychology literature in the 1970s by Alberta Bandura, the self-efficacy concept forms one of the central tenets of social learning theory (Albayrak & Unal, 2011) and continues to be incorporated in contemporary teacher education programs to increase teaching confidence (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003).

Simply put, self-efficacy denotes a persons judgment about how well he or she can organize and execute courses of action necessary to realize certain goals or objectives (Albayrak & Unal, 2011), an individuals conviction in his or her competence to organize and execute the most probable path of action necessary to manage upcoming and potential circumstances (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003), or a belief about ones own capability to reach the necessary levels of learning and behaviour (Isiksal, 2005).

As demonstrated by Bray-Clark and Bates (2003), self-efficacy is a task-specific belief that regulates choice, effort, and persistence in the face of obstacles and in concert with the emotional state of an individual (p. 14). Inciting the seminal works of Bandura (1977), Albayrak and Unal (2011) argued that efficacy beliefs govern how people think, feel, motivate themselves and behave, and determine whether coping behaviour is initiated, how much effort is expended, [and] how long the behaviour is sustained [when] faced with obstacles and unfavourable experiences (p. 183).

Additionally, these authors noted that self-efficacy convictions arbitrate in the correlation involving knowledge and action, implying that individuals must demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skills as well as efficacy beliefs and expectations in order to develop the capability to execute specific actions effectively. Following this elaboration, Berna and Gunhan (2011) acknowledged that individuals who demonstrate firm self-efficacy beliefs are also inclined to show more effort when they face challenges and continue to demonstrate confidentiality and faithfulness to the struggle as they attain the requisite skills needed to surpass the challenges.

Self-efficacy is also generally categorized as a motivational construct, with available literature demonstrating that the beliefs held in this construct not only affect the judgments and perceptions of people but also shape how an individual can perform in a given scenario (Pajares, 2002; Phan, 2012). The present research study attempts to expound on the self-efficacy concept, and its theoretical viewpoints cited comprehensively in available research studies under the theories of expectancy-value and the self-concept (Pajares, 1996). According to the expectancy-value theory, individuals will be motivated to engage in tasks when they value the outcome expected; they will be less predisposed to perform tasks whose outcomes they do not value (Pajares, 1996, p. 558).

This implies that self-efficacy beliefs, viewpoints and expectations relate to the expected outcomes of an action taken to demonstrate that ones beliefs can contribute to the expected outcomes; for instance, if a mathematics teacher is confident that his or her skills in lesson planning are exceptional, it is most likely that the beliefs and expectations of such a teacher will be very firm (Esterly, 2003).

The available self-efficacy scholarship demonstrates that the concept differs from self-concept in that, while the former denotes a context-specific assessment of proficiency to perform a particular task or activity, the latter is assessed at a broader intensity of specificity (Pajares, 1996; Tatar & Buldur, 2013). As observed by Bandura (1986), self-efficacy looks at the relationship created between what an individual perceives as self-efficacy and the functional cognitive development of the individual.

The available literature demonstrates that the self-efficacy concept has two dimensions, namely, outcome expectancy and efficacy expectation (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003). Efficacy expectancy refers to the belief that an individual has in his or her capability to finish a job successfully, while outcome expectancy refers to the belief of this individual that the accomplished task will result in the desired outcomes (Bandura, 1986).

Most people develop self-efficacy through observational learning, experiences in social settings, and the reciprocal determinism to develop ones personality (Czerniak & Schriver, 1994). The experiences that people undergo provide them with an opportunity to develop high or low levels of self-efficacy. Abilities, attitudes, and cognitive skills make up a self-system that plays a vital role in peoples perception of situations and responses to these different situations (Bandura, 1986; Kranzler & Pajares, 1997 Swars, 2005; Swars, Hart, Smith, Smith, & Tolar, 2007).

In practice, people who have high self-efficacy believe in their abilities and take chances in accomplishing tasks (Grossman & McDonald, 2008); they trust themselves and believe that they will achieve reasonable results when they focus on doing something (Hall & Ponton, 2005). Conversely, people who possess low self-efficacy have little belief in their abilities and thus often remain doubtful about their ability to achieve positive outcomes (Pendergrast, Garvis, & Keogh, 2011). Accordingly, their efforts and determination will always fall below the standards, forcing them to get undesired results.

Sources of Self-Efficacy

Bandura (1977), comprehensively cited in Albayrak and Unal (2011), noted that the expectations of personal efficacy are derived from four principal sources of information: performance accomplishment, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states (p. 183). In another study, Bandura (1997), cited in Charalambous and Philippou (2003), posited that there are four sources of efficacy information, namely mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological and emotional arousal. It is evident from the existing literature (e.g., Berna & Gunhan, 2011) that masterly experience is the same as performance accomplishment and that verbal persuasion and social persuasion are also the same.

Performance accomplishment

Performance accomplishment also referred to as masterly experience, is considered the most powerful source of efficacy information, in large part because efficacy beliefs are reinforced considerably when success is attained on difficult tasks with minimal assistance (Charalambous & Philippou, 2003). However, as noted in the literature, not all successful experiences reinforce efficacy; for instance, an individuals sense of self-efficacy cannot be reinforced when success is attained through disproportionate external assistance or when he or she is exposed to an easy and unimportant task (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003).

According to Hoy and Spero (2005), the discernment that an individual has succeeded in accomplishing a particular task or activity raises his or her efficacy beliefs and contributes to the anticipation that performance will be proficient in the future, while the discernment that an individual has failed to accomplish a particular task or activity lowers his or her efficacy beliefs and contributes to the anticipation that future performance will also be inept.

Successful completion of a task strengthens ones sense of self-efficacy, which allows them to believe that they have the prerequisite skills to accomplish every task; however, the failure to deal entirely with a challenge or task will undermine and weaken ones self-efficacy (Enoch, Smith, &Huinker, 2000). In their study, Hackett and Betz (2009) explained that mastery experiences allow pre-service teachers to develop a firm sense of efficacy.

Vicarious experiences

As demonstrated by Hoy and Spero (2005), vicarious experiences are those in which the skill in question is modelled by someone else (p. 3). A strand of existing literature demonstrates that vicarious experiences may modify efficacy beliefs, expectations, or judgments about self-competence through comparison with the attainment of others (Berna & Gunhan, 2011), implying that watching admirable and convincing individuals with more or less the same capabilities as the observer can influence the observers self-efficacy beliefs (Charalambous & Philippou, 2003).

Bandura (1977), cited in Hoy and Spero (2005), argued that the degree to which the observer identifies with the model moderates the efficacy effect on the observer (p. 3). This means that the more closely an observer identifies with admirable and credible people, the stronger the impact on his or her efficacy will be; that is, the efficacy of the observer is undoubtedly enhanced when the admirable or credible person with whom the observer identifies with performs well and is substantially lessened when the person performs poorly.

In practice, when pre-service teachers watch other experienced teachers complete their tasks successfully, they will also want to trust their abilities and work hard to achieve tasks. Bandura (cited in Battista, 1994) explained that, when people see other with whom they have similar characteristics succeed through sustained effort, they raise their beliefs that they have the same capabilities and chances of success.

Verbal or social persuasion

Verbal or social persuasion serves as a further avenue for reinforcing the beliefs or expectations of an individual, particularly in the context whereby significant others express confidence and faith in the capabilities demonstrated by the individual (Charalambous & Philippou, 2003) or when encouragement is provided in a more effective and realistic manner and reinforced by real experiences (Berna & Gunhan, 2011; Bursal & Paznokas, 2006).

As acknowledged by Hoy and Spero (2005), verbal or social persuasion may be in the form of a pep conversation or an explicit performance response from a superior or a coworker, or it may relate to the common gossip in the staffroom or in the mainstream media outlets about the capacity of teachers to influence and motivate students. These authors further posited that although social persuasion alone may be limited in its power to create enduring increases in self-efficacy, persuasion can contribute to successful performance to the extent that a persuasive boost in self-efficacy leads a person to initiate the task, attempt new strategies, or try hard enough to succeed (p. 3).

Social persuasion as a source of self-efficacy may be instrumental in countering sporadic setbacks and challenges that may substantially inspire sufficient self-doubt to interrupt persistence; however, as acknowledged by Hoy and Spero (2005), the effectiveness or success of persuasion depends to a large extent on the integrity, dependability, and proficiency of the persuader. In the mainstream teaching occupation, pre-service teachers are routinely exposed to colleagues who succeed effortlessly, which in turn persuades them to raise their game so that they can also do better. For instance, they undergo a self-reflection process to identify the weaknesses that undermine their ability to succeed and focus on eliminating these weaknesses so that they can perform like other teachers (Ball & Bass, 2003; Enoch et al., 2000; Hackett & Betz, 2009).

Physiological states

Psychological states denote how thoughts of restfulness, confidence, and positive em*otions indicate self-assurance and the expectancy of upcoming success for the individual concerned (Hoy & Spero, 2005) and how negative feelings such as rapid heartbeat, fatigue, and pain indicate a lack of self-assurance and the expectancy of immediate or future failure for the individual concerned (Charalambous & Philippou, 2003).

Battista (1994) noted that personal emotional reactions and responses to situations influence the development of self-efficacy, implying that emotions, moods, stress, and physical reactions have effects on a persons perception of his or her abilities during a situation. However, the factual concentration of a physical or emotional reaction is not the most significant aspect of the relationship between psychological responses and the development of self-efficacy; on the contrary, the most significant factor is the perception and interpretation that a person uses to reduce stress and elevate mood during challenging or difficult tasks (Ashton & Webb, 1986; Battista, 1994; Cakiroglu, 2008).

Self-Efficacy in the Pre-service Teachers Context

A strand of existing literature demonstrates that most pre-service teachers specializing in mathematics or math-related subjects have low levels of self-efficacy (Swars, Hart, Smith, Smith, & Tolar, 2007), in spite of the fact that they understand the significance of mathematics self-efficacy and therefore should show high levels of mathematics teaching efficacy (Ashton, Webb, & Doda, 1982). Indeed, some pre-service teachers have confirmed their dislike for subjects that they are supposed to teach passionately once they begin their profession (Bates, Latham, & Kim, 2011). Often, the attitudes and judgments of teachers concerning their competence will have a direct impact on the attitudes and outcomes of their students toward the subjects they teach (Hackett & Betz, 1989).

A study by Albayrak and Unal (2011) acknowledged that teachers with a high efficacy belief have a tendency to behave in some specific ways to influence student motivation and achievement, with the most common forms of efficacy behaviours demonstrated by these teachers outlined as elevating expectations, valuing, pushing (encouraging), greeting behaviour, opening and closing ritual, equalizing response opportunities, feedback and teacher help, waiting, praising and respecting (p. 184).

Other studies have underscored a number of characteristics associated with pre-service teachers with high levels of self-efficacy. First, these teachers perceive challenging problems as tasks that must be mastered (Bates et al., 2011; Cone, 2009), implying that high self-efficacy enables teachers to master challenging problems so that they can be solved successfully both at the present moment and in future events (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003). Accordingly, they develop the prerequisite skills that boost their confidence in related tasks or other challenging problems.

Second, high levels of self-efficacy cause pre-service teachers to develop a firm interest in the activities they undertake (Charalambous, Philippou, & Kyriakides, 2008; Grossman & McDonald, 2008). It is a shared belief that a keen interest in something allows an individual to acquire the skills and knowledge that will guarantee positive outcomes. When a mathematics teacher has little interest in the subject, he or she will achieve dismal results, as exhibited in the performances of their students (Hackett & Betz, 1989).

Third, pre-service teachers with high levels of self-efficacy are likely to develop and form a firm sense of commitment in their activities, which in turn allows them to acquire new skills since they are often ready to learn new approaches and strategies for tackling math problems and the challenges that their students face (Czerniak & Schriver, 1994; Esterly, 2003; Riggs & Enochs, 1990). Fourth, pre-service teachers with high levels of self-efficacy are proactive and self-organizing. In most cases, they do not wait to tackle their problems when they arise but work to eliminate or minimize possible challenges.

74Similarly, problems that occur are tackled in an organized manner without any delays (Battista, 1994). Finally, preservice teachers with high levels of self-efficacy have an admirable ability not only to recover from disappointments and setbacks very quickly but also to work toward the next success (Huinker & Madison, 1997; Kagan, 1992). For example, these teachers do not see failure as the end of their success or inability to achieve positive outcomes (Enoch, Smith,& Huinker, 2000); rather, a negative outcome is regarded as a one-time occurrence that allows them to work harder or acquire better skills required to solve future challenges (Hall & Ponton, 2005).

In a study aimed at investigating the self-efficacy beliefs of in-service teachers in Slovakia, Gavora (2011) cited other research studies to demonstrate that teachers with elevated intensities of self-efficacy beliefs (1) regularly experiment with new teaching approaches, (2) demonstrate a propensity to be less critical of their students, (3) are generally more helpful to their students both instructional and expressively, (4) demonstrate a propensity to guide challenged students, (5) are generally more passionate, (6) demonstrate more dedication to their career than other teachers, (7) demonstrate sufficient capacity to deal with the needs and expectations of low-ability students, (8) demonstrate elevated levels planning intensities, (9) are generally inclined to new ideas, (10) demonstrate a propensity to work with student-centered approaches, and (11) implement a more humanistic orientation to classroom management.

These observations are consistent with the view held by most social learning perspectives that the self-efficacies demonstrated by teachers are of immense importance in determining how they approach various tasks, challenges, and goals related to student learning (Lampert, 1990) and that a strong sense of self-efficacy normally correlates positively with effective teacher action in the classroom context (Gavora, 2011).

Conversely, pre-service teachers who have a weak sense of self-efficacy exhibit characteristics that function to derail or adversely affect student educational outcomes and achievement. Indeed, Gavora (2011) cited Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2007) to demonstrate the following:

According to social-cognitive theory, teachers who do not expect to be successful with certain pupils are likely to put forth less effort in preparation and delivery of instruction, and to give up easily at the first sign of difficulty, even if they actually know of strategies that could assist these pupils if applied. Self-efficacy beliefs can therefore become self-fulfilling prophesies, validating beliefs either of capability or of incapacity (p. 80).

First, teachers with a weak or poorly developed sense of self-efficacy often tend to keep away from demanding and difficult tasks. In most cases, they believe that challenging situations and tasks are beyond their abilities. The practice becomes habitual among teachers who avoid difficult tasks and hence undermines their ability to acquire the skills required to solve various challenges.

Second, these teachers tend to dwell on their shortcomings, failures, and negative outcomes (Bates, Latham, & Kim, 2011; Charalambous, Philippou, & Kyriakides, 2008). Third, these teachers lack the ability to bounce back and start planning for future success. Finally, they lose confidence in their personal abilities and stop working on tasks that they think they will not manage. Some of the common behaviors demonstrated by teachers with low self-efficacy include low or deficient expectations, sorting, undervaluing, excommunicating, using a high rate of speed to teach, questioning, and estrangement (Albayrak & Unal, 2011).

Owing to the fact that efficacy beliefs are to a large extent shaped by an individuals previous performance and experiences (Bandura, 1997), it is exceedingly feasible that previous experiences of pre-service teachers (e.g., disappointment with mathematics in school or pessimistic students attitudes toward mathematics lessons) may form the underlying reasons as to why teachers develop a low efficacy belief and internalize some of the negative behaviors indicated above (Cone, 2009).

Self-efficacy enables teachers to formulate strategies that enhance performance and provide the desired feedback for positive results (Cone, 2009). Teachers who possess a high level of self-efficacy often have the ability to formulate a number of strategies that they use to approach different class problems (Ashton, Webb, & Doda, 1982). Accordingly, they have a number of alternatives that allow them to develop a strong sense of success. In teaching practice, the best results are often attributable to the sourcing and utilization of a myriad of strategies. Accordingly, it is rare or impossible to find a teacher who uses only one strategy and remains successful (Charalambous, Philippou, & Kyriakides, 2008).

The performance of various students in mathematics may depend on various factors, but teachers with high self-efficacy believe that performance is mainly influenced by the experiences obtained from classrooms (Cone, 2009; Hart, 2002). Accordingly, teachers will use their self-efficacy to ensure that all children perform well in mathematics regardless of their backgrounds and histories (Bursal, 2007). For example, teachers who understand self-efficacy will stress its significance to the learners and uphold it during the learning process (Ipek & Camadan, 2012).

Bandura (1986), cited in Bursal and Paznokas (2006), stated that self-efficacy allows teachers to achieve the desired outcomes for students learning and engagement even among students experiencing learning difficulties and with minimal motivation to perform. In this case, a teacher believes that external factors such as parents, background, intelligence quotient (IQ), school conditions, and environment do not affect the outcomes of learning as long as the teacher uses the best and most appropriate strategies to deliver different units of the course (Battista, 1994; Charalambous, Philippou, & Kyriakides, 2008). Therefore, these teachers will adopt different inclusive strategies that allow students to learn, develop interest, and work hard to pass the subject.

General self-efficacy theories stipulate that self-efficacy beliefs determine the behaviors of people through the development of attitudes toward their capabilities (Bates, Latham, & Kim, 2011; Cone, 2009). Accordingly, when teachers develop an attitude toward their abilities, they tend to determine what they can do or not do with their knowledge and skills (Lampert, 1990; Steele & Widman, 1997).

This may not be appropriate for teachers who are not flexible and dynamic because they have already predetermined their abilities and inabilities (Enochs, Smith, & Huinker, 2000). Therefore, skills and knowledge should be assumed to be powerful tools that can be used to solve any problem regardless of the situation. Self-efficacy is a fundamental factor in human competence since it mediates between beliefs and behaviors concerning abilities (Ashton, Webb, & Doda, 1982; Bandura, 1977; Bursal, 2007). The development of strong self-efficacy allows teachers to develop appropriate teaching efficacies, as discussed below.

Teacher Efficacy

Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001) explained that the concept of teacher efficacy refers to the judgment and belief of a teacher that his or her abilities and strategies will bring the desired results for students learning and engagement for all students. Teacher efficacy belief is an adaptive dynamic contract (Kim, Sihn, & Mitchell, 2014), defined in the literature as the extent to which teachers believe that they can have a positive impact on students learning outcomes and achievement (Albayrak & Unal, 2011), the teachers individual beliefs in their competence to perform specific teaching tasks at a specified level of quality in a school context (Kim, Sihn, & Mitchell, 2014), or teachers belief or personal conviction that they can positively influence how well students are able to learn and cope with various learning challenges (Hoy & Spero, 2005).

The concept of teacher efficacy is different from teacher self-efficacy, as the former focuses on successfully influencing the performance of students in a classroom context, while the latter focuses on the capacity of teachers to perform particular teaching tasks successfully in their current teaching conditions (Kim, Sihn, & Mitchell, 2014).

In teacher efficacy research, it is evident that classroom activities implemented by a teacher are responsible for influencing students learning outcomes in key areas of achievement, motivation, and their own sense of self-efficacy (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003; Isiksal, 2005). Consequently, a strand of existing literature demonstrates that the concept of teacher efficacy has two foremost aspects, namely (1) personal teaching efficacy, or the conviction in the individuals own capability and aptitude to teach, and (2) teaching outcome expectancy, or the conviction that effective teaching can affect student learning positively in spite of existing conditions such as the home environment, family settings, parental influences, school conditions, and IQ (Albayrak & Unal, 2011; Cohen, 1988; Esterly, 2003; Lee, 2010).

Bandura (1986), cited in Guskey and Passaro (1994), called for a distinction between these two dimensions of teaching efficacies because a teacher may assume that student learning originates from effective teaching, yet the teacher is uncertain about the essential capabilities for the successful delivery of lessons. The concept of teacher efficacy focuses on the factors that enhance teachers confidence and enable them to achieve the goals and objectives associated with class instructions, class management, reflective teaching, student motivation and engagement, and stakeholder engagement in the educational process (Kazempour, 2008).

The investigation of self-efficacy in relation to teaching has been a foremost concern of several educational studies (e.g., Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003; Esterly, 2003; Hoy & Spero, 2005), with many of these studies relating the self-efficacy belief concept with teacher efficacy belief in an attempt to demonstrate how teacher efficacy beliefs enhance student learning outcomes in school. One such study conducted by Gibson and Dembo (1984) and comprehensively cited in Albayrak and Unal (2011) acknowledged the following:

&teachers who believe student learning can be influenced by effective teaching (outcomes expectancy beliefs) and who also have confidence in their own teaching abilities (self efficacy beliefs) should persist longer, provide a greater academic focus in the classroom, and exhibit different types of feedback than teachers who have lower expectations concerning their ability to influence student learning (p. 184).

The available literature demonstrates that teacher efficacy influences teacher behavioral orientations in core areas such as persistence on a task, risk taking, classroom instructional strategies, investment in teaching effort, goal setting, and the use of innovations (Albayrak & Unal, 2011; Hoy & Spero, 2005), implying that teachers with optimal teaching efficacy beliefs and confidence attempt new teaching approaches that are difficult to implement (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003), engage in risk-taking behaviors such as sharing control with students (Berna & Gunhan, 2011), invest much effort in teaching with a view to enhancing the basic performance of students despite the difficulties that may arise (Arslan & Yavuz, 2012), employ inquiry and student-centered approaches to be more effective (Ashton & Webb, 1986), and demonstrate a personal conviction that they have the capacity to control or at least influence student achievement and motivation (Savran-Gencer & Cakiroglu, 2007).

This elaboration is supported by Kim, Sihn, and Mitchell (2014), who not only acknowledged that students development of mathematical proficiency is related to teachers efficacy in teaching mathematics but also proposed that highly efficacious teachers have a positive effect on student learning outcomes because efficacy influences the teachers persistence on a task, willingness to take risks, and employment of innovations in their teaching.

Teacher efficacy is exhibited through the use of various instructional approaches and student-centered approaches. A diversity of instructional approaches means that the teacher does not use the same teaching methods from the first day to the last day; rather, he or she formulates various strategies that can effectively allow him or her to

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