The Mediating Effect of Vocational Self-Efficacy Beliefs in the Relationship between Big Five and Professional Attitude

In this study, the mediator role of self-efficacy in the relationship between personality traits and attitude towards teaching profession was examined for prospective teachers. The sample of the study consisted of 487 3rd and 4th grade students (356 females and 131 male) studying at Atatürk University Kazım Karabekir Education Faculty in the Spring Semester of 2018-2019 Academic Year and these students were determined by simple random cluster sampling method. This study was designed as a relational study and quantitative methods were used. Three different measurement tools were used in order to determine the personality traits, professional attitude, and self-efficacy beliefs of prospective teachers. The data were analyzed with different statistical package programs. As a result of tested SEM models and Bootstrap analyses, it was found that self-efficacy had a partial mediator effect on the relationship between agreeableness and neuroticism and attitudes towards teaching profession, and a full mediator effect on the relationship between conscientiousness, extraversion and openness to experience and attitude towards teaching profession. The results were discussed in the light of related studies and certain conclusions and recommendations were presented.