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Self-efficacy is a topic of great interest in elementary preservice and inservice teacher education, considering that elementary teachers often have low science and engineering teaching self-efficacy. In this systematic review, we synthesize existing research to reveal trends and uncover existing gaps, including recommendations for future research. Out of 117, we found 84 articles studied preservice, 31 inservice and two articles studied both preservice/inservice teachers’ self-efficacy. Findings from thematic analysis indicate that the diversity of teacher education programs, both across the United States and globally, offers a rich context for considering a range of programmatic features that impact elementary teachers’ science and engineering teaching self-efficacy. Implications for future research and practice in multiple contexts across teacher preparation programs are discussed.
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Teaching the E in STEM: A Synthesis of the Engineering Teaching Self-Efficacy Literature.
Preservice teacher preparation programs and inservice professional development enhance science teaching self-efficacy. Research has shown that elementary teachers often have low self-efficacy for teaching science and engineering. However, there is less evidence surrounding engineering teaching self-efficacy. In this systematic review of literature, we explored the research question: What does the existing literature on self-efficacy reveal about fostering elementary teachers’ engineering teaching self-efficacy? We (1) synthesize the existing research on engineering teaching self-efficacy and (2) describe trends in research and uncover gaps that exist, including recommendations for future research. Among the 117 articles included in our full systematic review of science and engineering teaching self-efficacy, only 13 empirical studies focused specifically on engineering teaching self-efficacy. With a dearth of studies in both preservice and inservice contexts, there is a need for additional research on engineering teaching self-efficacy. In particular, longitudinal studies that track change over time and measure lasting effects of interventions. Further, detailed explorations of the factors that impact engineering teaching self-efficacy across multiple contexts are needed. Findings from these studies will help STEM educators to inform the design of preservice teacher education programs as well as inservice professional development opportunities.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2151056
- PAR ID:
- 10415443
- Publisher / Repository:
- Association of Science Teacher Education Conference Proceedings
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Association for Science Teacher Education
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Elementary teachers often have low self-efficacy for teaching science and engineering, and a range of professional development experiences have been designed to support teaching self-efficacy. Out of 117 total studies from 2010-2021 included in our systematic review, 22 focused specifically on inservice elementary teachers’ science and engineering teaching self-efficacy. In this presentation, we synthesize this existing research to identify trends in the literature. Our findings reveal that while existing research suggests that professional development opportunities can support elementary teachers’ science and engineering teaching self-efficacy, significant gaps in the literature remain. It is unclear why some professional development experiences support improved self-efficacy while others do not, and it is difficult to disentangle the effects of the many factors that may relate to self-efficacy within these studies. Recommendations for future research are described.more » « less
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