High School Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy: Traditional Teaching vs. Teaching With a Learning Management System

Teacher efficacy has an impact on how students achieve in the classroom. There is a variety of ways teachers help students learn. For example, the method of traditional instruction includes the use of a textbook and teacher lectures. However, a current trend in education is for schools to use a Learning Management System, like Schoology, to help teachers organize and distribute resources to students. This study will help administrators understand if teachers have a stronger or weaker sense of efficacy through the use of traditional instruction or instruction with the use of Schoology. The study is important because administrators need to understand how the programs they are implementing in schools impact teacher efficacy beliefs. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to employ Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, to identify if there was a difference in high school teacher efficacy beliefs of those who teach with Schoology in their classrooms and those employ traditional methods. The researcher attained permission from the Superintendent of five school districts and high school teachers were asked to participate in the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) via email. Participants completed the survey through a link in their email, and the researcher analyzed data using the MANOVA to test if each dependent variable of teacher efficacy differs significantly. The MANOVA determined that there was no significant difference among the groups in terms of their teacher efficacy. Although no significant differences were reported, the research adds to the body of literature since there are very few studies on the impact of an LMS in K-12 education