Self-efficacy is a key piece of Bandura’s (1984) social cognitive theory and has been shown in previous studies to be a strong predictor of student achievement, motivation, collaboration, and teacher leadership. Teacher efficacy, in particular, is the belief a teacher holds about the capability to reach all students in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000) and the Mathematics Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Inventory (Enochs, 2001) using both Classical Test Theory and Rasch Measurement analyses. Secondly, the study sought to compare the efficacy levels of elementary, middle, and high school teachers (N= 263). The findings of the current examination indicated that the scales utilized were reliable through both Classical Test Theory and Rasch measurement. The Rasch analysis also showed that both scales contained items that were too easy for experienced teachers to answer and did not distinguish well between those that had high and low efficacy. In addition, the findings indicated a significant difference in efficacy levels between elementary teachers and the middle and high school teachers, with the elementary teachers reporting a higher level of teacher efficacy. The findings suggest that further research is needed, given the current reform efforts in mathematics education, both in developing more refined teacher efficacy measurement instruments and investigating the reasons for the differences in efficacy levels.
","abstract_html":"<p>Self-efficacy is a key piece of Bandura’s (1984) social cognitive theory and has been shown in previous studies to be a strong predictor of student achievement, motivation, collaboration, and teacher leadership. Teacher efficacy, in particular, is the belief a teacher holds about the capability to reach all students in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000) and the Mathematics Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Inventory (Enochs, 2001) using both Classical Test Theory and Rasch Measurement analyses. Secondly, the study sought to compare the efficacy levels of elementary, middle, and high school teachers (N= 263). The findings of the current examination indicated that the scales utilized were reliable through both Classical Test Theory and Rasch measurement. The Rasch analysis also showed that both scales contained items that were too easy for experienced teachers to answer and did not distinguish well between those that had high and low efficacy. In addition, the findings indicated a significant difference in efficacy levels between elementary teachers and the middle and high school teachers, with the elementary teachers reporting a higher level of teacher efficacy. The findings suggest that further research is needed, given the current reform efforts in mathematics education, both in developing more refined teacher efficacy measurement instruments and investigating the reasons for the differences in efficacy levels.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Head, Catherine F."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Teacher Leadership for Learning","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Angela Blaver","Dr. Wendy Sanchez","Dr. Mary Garner"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-10-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-10-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:42:53Z","subjects":["educational research","classic test theory","rasch measurement","efficacy levels","teacher testing","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/526","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Angela Blaver","Dr. Wendy Sanchez","Dr. Mary Garner"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Head, Catherine F."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-12-06T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Teacher Leadership for Learning"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["educational research","classic test theory","rasch measurement","efficacy levels","teacher testing","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/526"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Self-efficacy is a key piece of Bandura’s (1984) social cognitive theory and has been shown in previous studies to be a strong predictor of student achievement, motivation, collaboration, and teacher leadership. Teacher efficacy, in particular, is the belief a teacher holds about the capability to reach all students in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000) and the Mathematics Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Inventory (Enochs, 2001) using both Classical Test Theory and Rasch Measurement analyses. Secondly, the study sought to compare the efficacy levels of elementary, middle, and high school teachers (N= 263). The findings of the current examination indicated that the scales utilized were reliable through both Classical Test Theory and Rasch measurement. The Rasch analysis also showed that both scales contained items that were too easy for experienced teachers to answer and did not distinguish well between those that had high and low efficacy. In addition, the findings indicated a significant difference in efficacy levels between elementary teachers and the middle and high school teachers, with the elementary teachers reporting a higher level of teacher efficacy. The findings suggest that further research is needed, given the current reform efforts in mathematics education, both in developing more refined teacher efficacy measurement instruments and investigating the reasons for the differences in efficacy levels.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Comparative Analyses of Mathematics Teachers' Efficacy Using Factor Analysis and the Rasch Model"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Angela Blaver","Dr. Wendy Sanchez","Dr. Mary Garner"],"dc:creator":["Head, Catherine F."],"dc:date.available":["2012-12-06T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Self-efficacy is a key piece of Bandura’s (1984) social cognitive theory and has been shown in previous studies to be a strong predictor of student achievement, motivation, collaboration, and teacher leadership. Teacher efficacy, in particular, is the belief a teacher holds about the capability to reach all students in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000) and the Mathematics Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Inventory (Enochs, 2001) using both Classical Test Theory and Rasch Measurement analyses. Secondly, the study sought to compare the efficacy levels of elementary, middle, and high school teachers (N= 263). The findings of the current examination indicated that the scales utilized were reliable through both Classical Test Theory and Rasch measurement. The Rasch analysis also showed that both scales contained items that were too easy for experienced teachers to answer and did not distinguish well between those that had high and low efficacy. In addition, the findings indicated a significant difference in efficacy levels between elementary teachers and the middle and high school teachers, with the elementary teachers reporting a higher level of teacher efficacy. The findings suggest that further research is needed, given the current reform efforts in mathematics education, both in developing more refined teacher efficacy measurement instruments and investigating the reasons for the differences in efficacy levels.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/526"],"dc:subject":["educational research","classic test theory","rasch measurement","efficacy levels","teacher testing","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research"],"dc:title":["Comparative Analyses of Mathematics Teachers' Efficacy Using Factor Analysis and the Rasch Model"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Teacher Leadership for Learning"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:42:53Z"}