INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONALIZATION AND SELF-EFFICACY

Abstract

This study aims to determine the possible relationship between professionalization levels and self-efficacy perceptions in teachers. The research was carried out using the relational model, one of the quantitative research methods. Participants of the study were 439 teachers working in a district of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey who were selected through stratified sampling. The data were collected using "Teacher Professionalization Scale" and "Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale" and analyzed through the SPSS 22.0 statistics package program. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the possible significant relationship between teachers' professionalization levels and their self-efficacy, and a multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine whether their self-efficacy level predicted their professionalization level. The research findings demonstrated that they had a “high” level of professionalization and a "quite sufficient" level of self-efficacy. In addition, a positive and medium level relationship was found between these two variables. In other words, their self-efficacy significantly predicted their professionalization explaining 22% of the total variance. Based on these results, the study concludes that policies that improve teachers’ self-efficacy should be developed and implemented.