Browsing by Subject "opettajapystyvyys"

The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine the teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy of those teachers who taught remotely during the autumn of 2020. Furthermore, the aim is to find out if some background variables are connected to these above mentioned constructs. Teacher efficacy and collective efficacy are based on the self-efficacy beliefs which describe person’s beliefs in their own ability to succeed in specific situations (Bandura, 1977). Teacher efficacy is connected to many positive outcomes, e.g., remaining in the profession (Burley et al., 1991), and job satisfaction (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2010). There is also evidence that teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy are connected to each other (Goddard & Goddard, 2001). This master’s thesis aims to supplement the previous research data on teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in the context of COVID-19. The data used in this study are from a research project that aims to examine the effects of COVID-19 on studying, teaching and well-being. The project is run by University of Helsinki and Tampere University. The data were collected in November 2020 by sending electronic surveys to every comprehensive school in Finland. In total there were 5797 teacher participants, but the final sample consisted of those 1095 teachers who said that they had taught remotely during the autumn. The methods used in this quantitative study included describing the data and running correlation analyses and Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The dimensions of teacher efficacy were more correlated between themselves than the dimensions of collective teacher efficacy. The correlations between the two were even weaker. Class teachers had higher teacher efficacy compared to subject teachers or special education class teachers. Female teachers of the lower levels of comprehensive education had the highest levels of efficacy when teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy were examined together; the result is in line with several other studies (e.g. Greenwood, 1990; Edwards et al., 1996). Results indicate that remote teaching has weakened the collective teacher efficacy by decreasing the encounters of the work community. The result that class teachers had the highest levels of teacher efficacy might be explained by the vast level of general competence brought by the education or by their more reasonable workload.

Novice teachers' well-being at work has been a public discussion for a long time, and it has been researched that well-being at work has a connection to higher teacher efficacy, which usually is virtually low with beginner level teachers. Previous studies have indicated that teacher efficacy increases during education but decreases during the first year of teaching. Additionally, earlier studies have emphasized the role of the work community when considering well-being at work, and individuals' own responsibility has been brought up. The objective of this master's thesis is to discover what kinds of changes teacher efficacy goes through during one's career and the objective is to discover the matters that increase well-being at work. Six elementary school teachers participated in this qualitative research, they were both class teachers and special education teachers. The research data was collected in March 2023 using personal interviews and it was analyzed with a data-based content analysis method. Because this thesis was attentive about interviewees experiences, it leans on phenomenology. The results showed that teacher efficacy was high before entering education. In the beginning of their career, teacher efficacy decreased, which was shown as setting too high goals. After some time, teachers experienced lower stress and higher flexibility, which were signs of growing teacher efficacy. One stable matter was persistent working, which was a sign of some kind of teacher efficacy throughout the career. The results also implemented that relationships had the biggest impact on well-being at work even though the relationships had different kinds of meanings. Colleagues were appreciated during the ordinary days, principals were needed the most when conflicts happened, and parents' role was to help their kids, which advanced teachers' well-being at work. Also, it was important to limit the work hours and the amount of work in general. The results highlight those big changes that teachers go through during their careers, and the dependance of relationships when considering well-being at work. Even the relationship one has for himself, which comes across as setting necessary boundaries for himself.