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data on the contribution of factors like social status, academic recognition, and financial returns on the level of teachers‘ self-efficacy. In addition, such a
research is important in relation to the education reform in Indonesia, where an improvement of quality teachers is one important agenda in the improvement of
quality education that the government has planned.
7.2 Major Findings
As presented in Chapters 4 and 5, the findings of the present study centre on three major fields: a
teachers‘ self-efficacy, b the effects of professional development
training on teachers‘ self-efficacy, and c teachers‘ work engagement. All findings are situated in the context of education in Indonesia,
more particularly among the junior secondary school English teachers in Yogyakarta province, one major centre of Javanese culture in Indonesia.
7.2.1 Teachers’ efficacy beliefs
There are currently two different views about how teacher efficacy beliefs contribute to the work of teachers. The majority of the research studies suggest
that a high sense of efficacy contributes posi tively to a teacher‘s behavior and
impacts on hisher level of enthusiasm Alinder, 1994; Guskey, 1984, commitment to teaching Coladarci, 1992, planning and organization Alinder,
1994, and persistence in dealing with problems Ashton Webb, 1986. In addition, highly efficacious teachers are more open to new ideas and are willing
to experiment with new methods Guskey, 1988; Stein Wang, 1988. More
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recent studies, however, consider positive efficacy as an obstacle to development suggesting that efficacy doubt might contribute more to the
improvement in teacher quality Wheatley, 2000, 2002, 2005.
In the present study it was found that the overall mean of the teachers‘ efficacy
among the sample was 4.68 on a seven-point scale, with the mean scores of all five subscales above the mid-point. This indicates that in general the
participants were at 67 level of confidence in doing their teaching-related duties. Further,
the participants rated teachers‘ efficacy for English the lowest among the five subscales in the teacher efficacy questionnaire. In this case, the
participants rated themselves as higher in confidence in their English for instruction, but lower in their English for communication. This finding is
important, especially when improvement of student achievement is considered crucial. Such low levels of confidence in English for communication raises
questions concerning the teachers‘ ability to bring about higher levels of student achievement, and therefore emphasizes a need to provide more opportunities for
teachers to improve their levels of English competence. The findings therefore have important academic implications in relation to teacher professional
development, particularly in the effort to improve the English competence of these participants.
Another important finding was related to the gap between teachers‘ efficacy for classroom management and student engagement. The participants rated
themselves as more confident in their ability to manage the classroom than their
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ability to engage students. This gap resulted from the participants‘ perception that classroom management was closely related to the ability to exercise control
over students, while student engagement was related to students‘ active
participation in classroom activities. Given that Indonesian school students are ‗naturally‘ obedient but very quiet, managing them is much easier than
engaging them into active participation in class activities.
Although teachers in the sample had recently attended the CBIT in which the new curriculum was the focus of the training program, this training did not
appear to increase to a significant level the teachers‘ efficacy for curriculum
implementation – it ranked fourth among the five subscales in the efficacy
questionnaire. This highlights the need for more opportunities to include aspects of curriculum implementation in the teacher development programs.
Interestingly, teachers in the sample reported relatively high levels of efficacy for instructional strategies, which are closely connected with the
implementation of curriculum in the classroom.
Furthermore, the present study also found th at teachers‘ self-efficacy among the
participants was related to gender, age and teaching experience. There were significant differences in the level of efficacy beliefs between male and female
teachers, with male teachers reported higher efficacy M = 4.78; SD = 1.44 than the female M = 4.64; SD = 1.3. There were also significant differences
between differences between the levels of efficacy beliefs of youngest teachers in the sample M = 4.4; SD = 1.8 and the other three groups of older teachers
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with the mean scores and standard deviations of M = 4.77 and SD = 1.21 for the 30-40 year group of teachers, M = 4.71 and SD = 1.22 the 41
–50 year teachers, and M = 4.79, SD = 1.78 for those above 50 years of age. In addition,
differences in teaching experiences resulted in differences in the level of efficacy beliefs, with the least experienced teachers reported the lowest self-
efficacy M = 4.18, SD = 1.54.
In terms of the effects of age and teaching experience, there seems to be a shared contribution, if not an overlap, between the contribution of age and
teaching experience on teacher efficacy beliefs. The contribution of the two variables follows a similar pattern, where teachers who were younger than 30
years of age, who were also the least experienced, differ significantly in their level of efficacy from the other groups. While the older groups, which are also
the groups with longer time in teaching, did not show significant difference. These findings fit neatly with the previous findings suggesting that once it is
established, teacher efficacy is relatively stable Bandura, 1997; Tschannen- Moran Hoy, 2007
Although there no combined effects found between the types of school and district where the participants were teaching, the present study found that there
was a combined significant effect of gender by age and teacher experience by school on the teachers‘ self-efficacy beliefs. In terms of the contribution of
gender by age, the present research found that male teachers of 30-40 years old reported significantly higher than that of female at the same age see Figure
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4.1. In addition the there was significant higher increase of efficacy reported by the male teachers.
In relation to the above findings, there is an indication that such differences are due to the ways young male teacher cope with the reality shock of their early
experiences in teaching. The fact that there was a more rapid increase in the level of efficacy among young male teachers compared to those of young
female teachers suggests that male teachers are less severely affected by the initial shock and recover more quickly to build their confidence in the
profession. In addition, Figure 4.1 shows that although the beginning level of efficacy of male teachers younger than 30 years of age is lower than the female
teachers, the male teachers between 30 - 40 years of age reported higher efficacy than the female.
Furthermore, the present study has shown that the more experienced public school teachers were significantly higher in their sense of efficacy than those
teaching in private schools, a phenomenon that may be related to the differences in the level of access to facilities and professional development programs in
public and private schools. In most cases, more experienced teachers in public schools have wider access to both facilities and professional development
programs. Their assessment of the available access to these two job resources increases the level of efficacy among the older public school teachers.
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In conclusion, alth ough the level of teachers‘ confidence was moderately high,
such a level of efficacy was contextually optimal, given that at the time the data were collected improvement in quality teachers was an important dimension of
the education reform agenda being rolled out across Indonesia. This moderate level of efficacy is not surprising given the changes taking place with regard to
the curriculum and teaching practices during the time the data were collected. Such a level of confidence is likely due to the incomplete but developing
mastery of the participants in the implementation of the new curriculum being required of all classroom teachers across the length and breadth of the
Indonesian archipelago.
The finding of such a moderate level of efficacy supports Whea tley‘s proposal
that teachers‘ efficacy doubt may be very important with regard to teacher
reform Wheatley, 2000, 2002, 2005. Teachers in the present study were not too confident so that they might be prepared to put in a more significant effort
in improving themselves, perhaps be ready to take on new initiatives and teaching strategies, as well as exerting effort in improving their teaching
performance.
7.2 .2 The effect of CBIT on teachers’ efficacy beliefs
