Collective Efficacy

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Collective Efficacy
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The Impact of Staff Development on Practice
Adapted from research of Bruce Joyce printed in
the NSDC Standards for Staff Development.
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Self-Efficacy
What is it?
Self-efficacy is the belief in ones
capabilities to organize and execute the sources
of action required to manage prospective
situations. Bandura, 1986
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Efficacy Research
Attempts to discover how beliefs about
effectiveness affect actual performance
And what researchers have learned is powerful!
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Why is efficacy important?
Efficacy beliefs determine

• whether thinking is
• erratic or strategic
• optimistic or pessimistic
• what courses of action people choose
• goals people set and commitment to them
• how much effort they put forth
• their expectations of success
• perseverance in the face of obstacles and failure
• their resilience to adversity
• how much stress and depression they experience
• AND the accomplishments they realize

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In other words, it is the psychological research
that proves -
Perception IS reality
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OR
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Whether you believe you can do a thing or nor,
you are right.- Henry Ford
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Collective Teacher Efficacy
What is it?
Collective efficacy in a school is the
perceptions of teachers that the faculty as a
whole can execute courses of action required to
positively affect student achievement
in other words, the school sees itself as an
effective agent of change.
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What does research tell us about its impact on
student achievement?

• student achievement is significantly and
  positively related to collective efficacy
• collective efficacy has a greater effect on
  student achievement than does student
  socioeconomic status
• one unit increase in a schools collective
  teacher efficacy scale score is associated with
• 8.62 point average gain in student mathematics
  achievement
• 8.49 point average gain in reading achievement

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...collective efficacy is the key organizational
variable in facilitating student achievementit
will have the strongest independent influence on
achievement. Smith, Hoy, Sweetland, 2001
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What does research tell us about why high
efficacy improves student achievement?
When collective efficacy is high, teachers in a
school -

• believe they can reach their students and that
  they can overcome negative external forces
• are more persistent in their efforts
• plan more
• accept personal responsibility for student
  achievement
• are not discouraged by temporary setbacks

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What does research tell us about why high
efficacy improves student achievement?

• efficacious schools are more likely to
• accept challenging goals
• demonstrate stronger effort
• persist in efforts to overcome difficulties and
  succeed
• Weak collective efficacy is likely to lead to
• reduced effort
• propensity to give up when things get tough

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there is strong reason to lead schools in a
direction that will systematically develop
teacher efficacy such efforts may indeed be
rewarded with continuous growth in not only
collective teacher efficacy but also student
achievement. Goddard, Hoy, Woolfolk Hoy, 2000
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What does research tell us about what improves
efficacy?
once established, the collective efficacy of a
school is a relatively stable property that
requires substantial effort to change.

• Four kinds of experiences impact efficacy beliefs
• Mastery experience
• Vicarious experience
• Social Persuasion
• Emotional arousal/affective state

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What does research tell leaders about how to
improve efficacy?

• Mastery experience
• create situations in which teachers can succeed
  with students
• action research projects
• Vicarious experience
• role models to demonstrate how skills are applied
  to achieve successful outcomes
• discussions with colleagues about success - what
  works

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What does research tell leaders about how to
improve efficacy?

• Teachers can be changed by
• Talks
• Workshops
• professional development
• feedback about progress and achievement.
• Verbal persuasion alone is not potent - requires
• positive direct experience
• models of success
• then can and does influence efficacy beliefs.

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What does research tell leaders about how to
improve efficacy?
Organizational Affective State

• Efficacious schools tolerate
• pressure
• conflicts
• functioning effectively
• Behavior of school leaders key influence - either
  positive or negative
• calm leadership in conflict
• limits misinterpretation of events
• over- or under-reaction.

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These conclusions are powerful ones that offer
great hope to schools struggling to increase
student achievement and overcome the association
between socioeconomic status and achievement.
Goddard, Hoy, Woolfolk Hoy, 2000