Abstract:
With the increasing number of English-language learners in secondary schools, all teachers are required to teach content and language as signalled in the New Zealand Curriculum. To be an effective teacher of English-language learners, the use of content-based teaching practices and instructional strategies is necessary along with a sense of self-efficacy. Higher self-efficacy is more likely to lead to positive behaviour, while lower self-efficacy is more likely to be associated with negative behaviour regarding the use of instructional strategies and teaching practices in the classroom.
This sequential, explanatory, mixed-methods design used a survey and interviews to explore how teacher self-efficacy perceptions influenced reported content-based instructional strategies. An additional aim of the study was to find out whether there was a relationship between the extent of professional learning and development, and teacher self-efficacy. While findings indicated that some high and medium self-efficacy teachers embraced content-based instructional strategies, most of which were gained through years of specialised professional learning and development, some medium and low self-efficacy teachers reported fewer instructional strategies and engaged in limited professional learning and development opportunities. The findings also showed that teachers reported differently on instructional strategies according to their self-efficacy perceptions, specialised training and the subject taught.