Within-teacher predictors of teacher efficacy

Previous research has represented teacher efficacy (TE) as a unitary disposition, despite theoretical arguments that TE is task specific. Experienced secondary teachers ( N = 52) responded to a survey probing their feelings of personal efficacy toward teaching different classes (up to four per respondent). Teachers' performance expectancies varied among teaching assignments: within-teacher factors accounted for 21% of the variance in TE. The influence of within-teacher factors on TE was moderated by between-teacher variables (subject, experience, education, gender, preference for student-directed instruction and innovative assessment).