The relationship between pre-service teachers' self-efficacy and their socialization while participating in an online early field experience course.

Abstract

Research in physical education has studied self-efficacy and teacher socialization separately. Research has also looked at the effects of online learning or hybrid courses in pre-service teachers, but research on how pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and socialization is affected by online learning is lacking. The purpose of this study was to find the relationship between pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and their socialization while participating in an online early field experience course. Prior to the beginning of the study, informed consent was obtained. Participants were 14 college aged pre-service teachers (PTs) (4 women and 10 men) enrolled in an early field experience course. The course was taught partially online and included peer teaching instead of teaching school age children due to COVID-19. The PTs completed the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) three times over the course of the semester. Following data analysis four PTs were purposefully selected (one with the highest mean change in self-efficacy, one with the lowest and negative mean change in self-efficacy and two others with a positive mean change in self-efficacy) for interviews. The four PTs were asked about their acculturation, professional socialization, and their self-efficacy. A repeated measures ANOVA was performed, wherein that the largest significant differences were between time one and time two of the survey with a p<.001. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis: (a) influential teacher preparation programs impacted pre-service teachers regardless of positive or negative socializing agents in their acculturation phase, (b) hands on experiences are crucial to development of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy, and (c) PLCS were viewed as a powerful tool to increase self-efficacy.