teachers responded highly favorable to this question and with quick authority. Teachers 1-6 described their level of self-efficacy as very high. They felt confident in their ability to not only meet, but exceed required expectations. Family upbringing and life experiences were two of the major factors the teachers felt influenced their high levels of efficacy. Teacher 1 described her self-efficacy as high. She credits sports and her parents as major influences in her high level of confidence in her ability to meet the tasks set forth before her:
I did gymnastics in college and so that was a job. You show up, you listen to your boss and when he tell you to run, you run. When you sprint, you sprint, when you squat, you squat and that was kind of it. The whole athletic area made me the perfectionist I am and it made me really reflective. I was the perfect kid probably like super stereotypical, but I never missed school, I was never late, never did a detention. That was just how I was raised. Both of my parents are teachers so that was just kind of engrained at a very young age. That anything less was unacceptable.
Teacher 2 related high self-efficacy to an understanding of clear expectations. He described a clarity and authenticity in knowing what he knows and what he does not know:
there. But I think some of that comes from teaching experience and the years I’ve been doing it. I attribute confidence to my personality, because I find that teaching especially young children, building the whole child, is one of the most important aspects of society. Teacher 3 also cited a high level of self-efficacy and attributed it to being real about her strengths and weaknesses. She stated,
I am pretty confident because I’m confident enough where I know if I’m not strong in an area, I am willing to go out and seek the answers or figure it out. Even if I am not super knowledgeable on something, I am willing to go out and do that.
She also attributed her high self-confidence to her upbringing: “I think honestly my mom has built me to be a very independent person and a very strong woman. Her goal for me and my siblings was you have to go to college.” Teacher 3 credited her passion for helping to boost her self-confidence in her teaching. She explains, “My kids said the other day, something like ‘you’re so loud’, and I said, ‘yes, because I have something I want you to hear, I have no
problem voicing my opinion and telling you how I feel.” Teacher 4 replied that his self-efficacy is “very, very high.” He explained,
I feel like there’s not, I don’t think there’s a task that I’ve been handed that I haven’t immediately been excited to undertake and without seeming overconfident, it usually turns out. If it doesn’t turn out, I’m here late at night working on it, trying to make it better and I know that if I set a goal, or if the district sets a goal for me, that I feel I will generally achieve it.
He credited his passion and care for the school district as a driving force in his goals to achieve the highest level of excellence.
committees, because she will get things done. Her upbringing and life experiences are the foundation on which her confidence rests. She stated that she was a young mother, but “never once doubted that she could do it.” She also explained, “I don’t have any problem standing up for what I believe in, but also for somebody else, for what’s right and wrong. I have a very strong family.”
Teacher 6 provided specific attributes to describe her level of self-efficacy. She stated, I am a very motivated person. I am kind of a go-getter so I would say my self-efficacy is pretty high in that aspect. I would say my self-efficacy though in other aspects like being outgoing, that’s a little bit lower. I’m not as confident in that type of thing.
She also explained,
I just feel like I’ve always had that drive to succeed through, I don’t know, I guess I’ve just always had it. Just seeing my parents growing up and their working hard and they kind of encouraged us to always work hard. So I think that has kind of made me who I am.
Administrator interviews. Three administrators, who were direct supervisors of the teachers identified as excellent, participated in individual interviews using the same semi- structured interview guide (see Appendix B). Their questions were worded slightly different based on their association with the teachers; however, in relation to the research questions, they were similar. The interviews took place in the administrators’ offices. Because the
administrators had interaction with one or more teachers, their responses were not coded individually, but in aggregate form. Likewise, their responses were coded together. The
building administrators explained how long they had worked with the teachers, and if they were responsible for the hiring and placement of the teachers. Of the six teachers identified as
excellent, four teachers were hired by their current principal and two were not. The emerging patterns from the administrator interviews were that this group of excellent teachers was
knowledgeable and relational, they set clear expectations for their students, were communicative and encouraged positive interactions, went above and beyond what is required, and possessed a true passion for the teaching and learning process. Initially, for Question 1, the administrators were asked to share whether or not they hired the teachers being identified as excellent, and how long they had worked as their direct supervisor. After that, administrators were asked questions specific to attributes and dispositions displayed by the teachers that influence teaching
excellence.