Collective Efficacy, Teacher Beliefs and Socioeconomic Status in Title I and Non-Title I Schools

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association between collective efficacy, teacher beliefs, and socioeconomic status with reading and math student achievement in the Title I and Non-Title I schools of one school district. This study examined factors that influence student achievement in a district with a majority of Title I schools. Of the eight K–8 schools in the participating district, five are Title I. Collective efficacy and teacher beliefs were used to gather data about what teachers believe regarding student learning. The efficacy survey in this study provided data about instructional strategies and student discipline. The beliefs survey provided data on teacher beliefs about student learning, problem-solving, and instructional effectiveness. The EVAAS growth scores indicated reading and math achievement for the participating district. Socioeconomic status was determined by the number of students receiving free and reduced lunch and was collected from district reports. Descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression analysis, and Pearson’s product-moment correlations were used to determine the significance of the association between collective efficacy, teacher beliefs, and socioeconomic status with reading and math student achievement in the Title I and Non-Title I schools of one school district. The multiple linear regression model for reading produced usable models for Title I and Non-Title I schools; however, the model for math was not reliable. Teacher beliefs were not found to have a significant association of either reading or math achievement in this study. Socioeconomic status and reading indicated a statistically significant p value, but the effect size was too small to determine practical significance. Correlation values for collective efficacy overall and both the instructional strategies subscale and the student discipline subscale produced moderate associations. The pairing for socioeconomic status and student achievement did not produce significant associations