Bhutanese Pre-service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs towards Teaching Secondary Mathematics

Abstract

Prospective teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs determine the success of teaching and learning in their future professional practices. Teachers with high self-efficacy are believed to have more confidence and success in teaching as compared to those teachers with low self-efficacy. Thus, this study aimed at examining the Bhutanese pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching secondary mathematics. The study employed a survey design within the positivist methodological framework. The study consisted of 81 pre-service teachers who responded to the secondary mathematics  teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs questionnaire (SMTSEBQ), an abridged version of several past instruments. This instrument assessed their perceived self-efficacy in terms of process standards of school mathematics. Findings of the study revealed that the Bhutanese pre-service teachers generally perceived their self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching mathematics somewhat positively. Comparison of the pre-service teachers’ mean scores on the five SMTSEBQ scales in terms of gender revealed that there was a statistically significant difference for problem-solving and reasoning-proof scales. In regard to programme level, there was a statistically significant difference in their self-efficacy beliefs on the four scales, except for the communication scale. The study is distinctive because it is the first study investigating into the pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching secondary mathematics in Bhutanese context.