Pre-Service Primary School Teachers' Motivations for Choosing The Teaching Profession and Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Science Teaching

Yıl 2022, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 2, 58 - 71, 30.12.2022

Bahattin Deniz Altunoğlu , Mehmet Altan Kurnaz , Steven Sexton

Öz

In the literature, pre-service primary school teachers’ low levels of self-efficacy in science and science teaching are frequently expressed. Self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers have a major role in future teaching practices and have a reciprocal interaction with their motivational beliefs. This study researched pre-service teachers’ motivation to choose the teaching profession and their science teaching self-efficacy. Participants consisted of 181 pre-service primary teachers at a university in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey. The ‘Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument’ (STEBI-B) and the ‘Motivation Scale for Profession and Field Selection’(MSTPFC) were used for this research. The study was conducted in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years. The results indicate that intrinsic motivation correlated positively to the student’s proficiency perception in their own science teaching. The study has shown how these characteristics positively contribute to the preparation of primary teacher candidates' competencies in terms of self-sufficiency, motivation, self-confidence, interest, need, and belief.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Primary Teacher Education, Career Motivation, Self-Efficacy, Science Teaching

Kaynakça

• Agbaria, Q. A. (2013). Self-Efficacy and participation in choosing the teaching profession as predictors of academic motivation among Arab student's girls. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 75-91. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n3.7
• Akpınar, E. & Ergin, Ö. (2005). Yapılandırmacı kurama dayalı fen öğretimine yönelik bir uygulama [A sample instruction for science teaching based on constructivist theory]. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi (H. U. Journal of Education), 29, 9-17.
• Anderson, R. N., Greene, M. L., & Loewen, P. S. (1988). Relationships among teachers’ and students’ thinking skills, sense of efficacy, and student achievement. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 34(2), 148-165.
• Atav, E., & Altunoğlu, B.D. (2013). Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the motivation scale on teaching profession and field choice. Hacettepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi-Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 28(2). 58-70
• Bandura, A. (1977a). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 25.
• Bandura, A. (1977b). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.
• Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W H Freeman/Times Books/Henry Holt & Co.
• Bandura, A. (2006). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales. In F. Pajares & T. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp. 307–337). Information Age.
• Bergman, D.J & Morphew, J. (2015). Effects of a science content course on elementary preservice teachers' self-efficacy of teaching science. Journal of College Science Teaching, 44(3), 73-81.
• Bıkmaz-Hazır, F. (2002). Fen Öğretiminde öz-yeterlik inanci ölçeği[Self-efficacy belief instrument in science teaching]. Eğitim Bilimleri ve Uygulama, (Educational Sciences and Practice) 1(2), 197-210.
• Boz, Y., & Boz, N. (2010). The nature of the relationship between teaching concerns and sense of efficacy. European Journal of Teacher Education, 33(3), 279-291. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2010.490910
• Bursal, M. (2010). Turkish preservice primary teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding mathematics and science teaching. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 8(4), 649-666. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-009-9179-6
• Buss, R. R. (2010). Efficacy for teaching elementary science and mathematics compared to other content: Efficacy for science and mathematics. School Science and Mathematics, 110(6), 290-297. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.2010.00037.x
• Cakiroglu, J., Capa-Aydin, Y., & Hoy, A. W. (2012). Science teaching efficacy beliefs. In B. J. Fraser, K. Tobin, & C. J. McRobbie (Eds.), Second international handbook of science education (pp. 449–461). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9041-7_31
• Çermik, H., Doğan, B., & Şahin, A. (2010). Sınıf öğretmenliği öğretmen adaylarının öğretmenlik mesleğini tercih sebepleri [Prospective elementary classroom teachers’ motives for selecting teaching profession]. Pamukkale University Journal of Education, 28(2), 201-212.
• Chesnut, S. R., & Burley, H. (2015). Self-efficacy as a predictor of commitment to the teaching profession: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 15, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.02.001 Enochs, L. G., & Riggs, I. M. (1990). Further development of an elementary science teaching efficacy belief instrument: A preservice elementary scale. School Science and Mathematics, 90(8), 694-706.
• Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410-8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
• Heyneman, S. P., & Loxley, W. A. (1983). The effect of primary-school quality on academic achievement across twenty-nine high- and low-income countries. American Journal of Sociology, 88(6), 1162-1194. https://doi.org/10.1086/227799
• Kılınç, A., Watt, H. M. G., & Richardson, P. W. (2012). Factors influencing teaching choice in Turkey. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40(3), 199-226. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2012.700048
• Kiziltepe, Z. (2015). Career choice: Motivations and perceptions of the students of education. The Anthropologist, 21(1–2), 143–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2015.11891804
• Klassen, R. M., & Tze, V. M. C. (2014). Teachers’ self-efficacy, personality, and teaching effectiveness: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 12, 59-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2014.06.001
• Klassen, R. M., & Chiu, M. M. (2010). Effects on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction: Teacher gender, years of experience, and job stress. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 741-756. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0019237
• Koc, I. (2017). Changes in preservice elementary teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy beliefs. European Journal of Education Studies, 3(12), 1-15.
• Koc, I., & Yager, R. E. (2016). Preservice teachers’ alternative conceptions of science and their self-efficacy beliefs about science teaching. European Journal of Education Studies, 2(6), 1-22.
• Liu, S., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2014). Teachers' motivation for entering the teaching profession and their job satisfaction: a cross-cultural comparison of China and other countries. Learning Environments Research, 17(1), 75-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-013-9155-5
• Martinez Torregrosa, J., Limiñana, R., Menargues, A., & Colomer, R. (2018). In-depth teaching as oriented-research about seasons and the sun/earth model: Effects on content knowledge attained by pre-service primary teachers. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 17(1), 97-119.
• Martins, M., Costa, J., & Onofre, M. (2015). Practicum experiences as sources of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38(2), 263-279. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2014.968705
• Mayr, J. (1998). Motive für die Studien- und Berufswahl. Fragebögen zur Erkundung des Lehrens und Lernens an der Pädagogischen Akademie. Eine Materialsammlung [Motives for the study and career choice. Questionnaires to explore teaching and learning at the Pedagogical Academy. A collection of materials]. Pädagogische Akademie der Diözese Linz.
• McEwan, P. J. (2015). Improving learning in primary schools of developing countries: A meta-analysis of randomized experiments. Review of Educational Research, 85(3), 353-394.
• Minister of National Education (MoNE). (2018). Fen bilgisi öğretim programı. [Primary science curriculum]. Retrieved from http://meb.gov.tr.
• Mooij, J. (2008). Primary education, teachers’ professionalism and social class about motivation and demotivation of government school teachers in India. International Journal of Educational Development, 28(5), 508-523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2007.10.006
• Morris, D. B., Usher, E. L., & Chen, J. A. (2017). Reconceptualising the sources of teaching self-efficacy: A critical review of emerging literature. Educational Psychology Review, 29(4), 795-833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9378-y
• Ozturk Akar, E. (2012). Motivations of Turkish pre-service teachers to choose teaching as a career. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(10), 67-84. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2012v37n10.7
• Özbaş, S. (2014). Sınıf öğretmeni adaylarının biyoloji öz-yeterlik algıları [Primary school pre-service teachers’ perceived biology self-efficacy]. Asian Journal of Instruction 2(1), 56-63.
• Özdoğan Özbal, E. & Gökçe, E. (2018). An examination of teacher employment policies in Turkey and different countries. Journal of Education and Future, (14), 169-180. http://doi.org/10.30786/jef.463771
• Palmer, D., Dixon, J., & Archer, J. (2015). Changes in science teaching self-efficacy among primary teacher education students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(12). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2015v40n12.3
• Riggs, I. M., & Enochs, L. G. (1990). Toward the development of an elementary teacher’s science teaching efficacy belief instrument. Science Education, 74(6), 625-637.
• Rouweler, M. J. M. (2016). Equipping pre-service teachers to improve science education at primary schools. (Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands). Retrieved from http://essay.utwente.nl/70952/1/Thesis%20M.J.M.%20Rouweler%202016%20.pdf
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020
• Seifert, K., & Sutton, R. (2010). Educational psychology. University Press of Florida. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=Krm0bwAACAAJ
• Stromquist, N. P., Lin, J., Corneilse, C., Klees, S. J., Choti, T., & Haugen, C. S. (2013). Women teachers in Liberia: Social and institutional forces accounting for their underrepresentation. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(5), 521-530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.08.002
• Tosun, T. (2000). The impact of prior science courses experience and achievement on the science teaching self-efficacy of preservice elementary teachers. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 12(2), 21-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173597
• Tomšik, R. (2019). Can motivation for choosing teaching as a profession predict academic achievement? The role of gender, secondary school type and study programme. Journal of Interdisciplinary Research 9(1), 299-304.
• Wang, Y.-L., Tsai, C.-C., & Wei, S.-H. (2015). The sources of science teaching self-efficacy among elementary school teachers: A mediational model approach. International Journal of Science Education, 37(14), 2264-2283. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1075077
• Watt, H. M. G., & Richardson, P. W. (2008). Motivations, perceptions, and aspirations concerning teaching as a career for different types of beginning teachers. Learning and Instruction, 18(5), 408-428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2008.06.002
• Woolfolk Hoy, A., Hoy, W. K., & Davis, H. (2009). Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. In K. Wentzel & A. Wigfi eld (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 627-653). Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Yazıcı, H. (2009). Öğretmenlik mesleği, motivasyon kaynakları ve temel tutumlar: kuramsal bir bakış[Teaching profession sources of motivation and basic attitudes: A theoritical overview]. Kastamonu Education Journal, 17(1), 33-46.
• Yıldırım, A., Özgürlük, B., Parlak, B., Gönen, E., & Polat, M. (2016). Ulusal matematik ve fen bilimleri ön raporu 4. ve 8. Sınıflar [National mathematics and science preliminary report 4th and 8th grades] (p. 117). Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Ölçme, Değerlendirme Ve Sınav Hizmetleri Genel Müdürlüğü (Ministry of National Education, General Directorate of Measurement, Evaluation and Testing Services). Retrieved from http://timss.meb.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/TIMSS_2015_Ulusal_Rapor.pdf
• Yüce, K. Şahin, E. Y., Koçer, Ö. & Kana, F. (2013). Motivations for choosing teaching as a career: A perspective of pre-service teachers from a Turkish context. Asia Pacific Education Review, 14(3), 295–306.
• Zee, M., Jong, P. F. de, & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2017). From externalizing student behavior to student-specific teacher self-efficacy: The role of teacher-perceived conflict and closeness in the student–teacher relationship. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 51, 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.06.009