Examining Elementary Teachers\u27 Sense of Efficacy in three settings in the Southeast

This study was conducted to investigate if teachers at urban, rural and suburban elementary schools differ significantly in their sense of self efficacy. The schools utilized for this research are located in the southeastern United States. Along with being in different geographic areas the schools are also different in their socioeconomic make-up and status. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy (TSES) created by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, was utilized. The authors found that, overall, the teachers at the urban elementary school displayed significantly lower scores on the TSES than did the suburban and rural schools. The implications for further research are to conduct a qualitative study of the teachers in the urban setting to delve deeper into their lower sense of efficacy in the classroom