The Effects of Alternative Certification Program Type on Teacher Self-Efficacy: A Causal-Comparative Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of alternative teacher certification program type on teachers sense of efficacy in classroom management, student engagement, and instructional strategies. Teacher self-efficacy has become the industry standard to measure a teachers sense of confidence in instructional tasks (Lauerman, & König, 2016). Measuring teacher self-efficacy of new teachers can indicate how teacher preparation program plays a role in establishing teacher self-efficacy. The study was built upon the conceptual framework of the teacher self-efficacy theory, which is a subset of the self-efficacy theory (Tshannen-Moran & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001). Participants in this study were new alternative certified teachers in Texas who had graduated from three program types typically found in Texas. Teachers completed the long form of Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). Each domain of teacher self-efficacy was statistically analyzed by a one-way ANOVA test to examine mean differences among teachers efficacy scores in each of three domains. Although no statistically significant differences were found between the mean scores of teachers in three domains of teacher self-efficacy, the researcher recommended that further testing using mixed methods continue. Understanding how different training experiences throughout professional training affect teachers perceived sense of efficacy can offer program developers a realistic view on which methods support teachers the most