Effects of School Leadership, Climate, and Growth Mindset on Teacher Efficacy in Southern Belize

Abstract

Teacher efficacy is an important variable in determining students' success in school. Despite its importance, little is known about the factors influencing teacher efficacy. The focus of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between the independent variables: school leadership, school climate, growth mindset, teacher experience, teachers' educational attainment, and gender on the dependent variable, teacher efficacy. The study also determined if these factors predicted teacher efficacy. The study was conducted in Southern Belize among secondary school teachers (n=106) and utilized a five-part questionnaire to collect data. Findings from the study indicated a moderate but positive correlation between the combination of school leadership, climate, growth mindset, teaching experience, educational attainment, gender and teacher efficacy. The results also revealed that school leadership and growth mindset were the only two independent variables that could predict teacher efficacy.  The research findings underscore the importance of understanding the factors that affect teacher efficacy to improve student achievement.