Hong Kong Pre-service Preschool Teachers' Self-efficacy and Its Relation to Their Practicum and University Experiences

Teachers’ self-efficacy is critical for classroom quality. Pre-service teacher training program sets the stage for developing self-efficacy in performing different classroom roles. Two major components of pre-service teacher... [ view full abstract ]

Teachers’ self-efficacy is critical for classroom quality. Pre-service teacher training program sets the stage for developing self-efficacy in performing different classroom roles. Two major components of pre-service teacher training program include practicum and university coursework. This study therefore examined Hong Kong pre-service preschool teachers’ different aspects of self-efficacy, and their relations to pre-service teachers’ practicum and university experiences. A total of 135 Hong Kong pre-service preschool teachers were surveyed about their self-efficacy (including self-efficacy in instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement), practicum experience (including feedback given by practicum supervisors, emotional support received from practicum supervisors, and exposure to good practices during practicum), and university experience (i.e., quality of learning from university courses). Results showed that pre-service teachers in the sample generally reported a moderate level of self-efficacy. Repeated measures analysis revealed that self-efficacy in student engagement was significantly lower than instructional strategies and classroom management, and the year of study had no significant effect on such differences. Linear regression analysis showed that after controlling for the effects of the year of study, self-efficacy in instructional strategies was positively correlated with exposure to good practices during practicum and quality of learning from university courses, whereas self-efficacy in classroom management and student engagement had no significant correlation with any variable of practicum and university experiences. Feedback given by practicum supervisors and emotional support received from practicum supervisors lost their significant correlations with self-efficacy in instructional strategies when the effects of other variables were considered. Based on the above, it is recommended to provide pre-service teachers with more opportunities to observe different good instructional practices during practicum. Meanwhile, practicum supervisors and university lecturers can adopt more effective strategies to promote pre-service teachers’ competence in motivating children to learn and managing children’s challenging behaviors. (Keywords: self-efficacy, pre-service teachers, practicum experience, university experience)