Over 40 Years of Teacher Self-Efficacy Research

Abstract Raising the academic achievement of school-aged children has become a pressing concern of societies the world over. This has led to an extensive examination of the skills and attributes necessary for teachers to facilitate student achievement. Following from this, there has been an increasing appreciation of the importance of teachers’ affective states and beliefs. Indeed, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2020) has noted that teachers need to have strong self-efficacy, confidence, and well-being if teaching and learning are to be effective. This chapter is concerned with the first of these, teacher self-efficacy: teachers’ beliefs about their ability to use their knowledge and skills to overcome challenges and execute specific teaching behaviors that bring about positive outcomes for their students. It is hoped that the chapter will offer researchers and educators who are new to the topic a solid grasp of what teacher self-efficacy is, why it is important, and to draw attention to some of the thorny issues that are evident in the field. In order to do that, the language, history, and evolution of the theoretical underpinning of teacher self-efficacy are examined; challenges and opportunities related to its measurement outlined; key research findings critically reviewed, implications explored, and future directions discussed.