Psycho-Behavioral Science and Quality of Life The 6 th International Postgraduate Research Colloquium IPRC Proceedings Page 98 The Construct Validation of the Teachers’ Efficacy Scale in the Malaysian Context Elia Md Johar¹, Kamal J I Badrasawi² Institute of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia Abstract Teacher efficacy, best explained in terms of student engagement, instructional strategies and classroom management, gives a great impact on student outcomes. The aim of the paper is to examine the underlying factors explaining teacher efficacy construct in the Malaysian context and thus validate the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), developed by Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy (2001). A sample of 125 teachers comprising a combination of regular primary, secondary and government sponsored boarding school teachers was administered a bilingual Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale. The scale consisted of 24 items, equally divided into 8 items under each factor. The results of principal component analysis yielded five factors – three original ones and two additional subscales. However, the results did not support the notion that this efficacy measure has a stable factor structure. There are likely more factors than what have been recommended by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) before. This might due to the variation in the demographic characteristics of the sample. 62.89 % of the variation in the traits was explained by the five factors. It is concluded that the variability in factor solutions might due to different sample and context. Keywords: Teacher Efficacy, Student Engagement, Instructional Strategies, Classroom Management, Principal Component Analysis Introduction Teacher efficacy has been given much attention as research has shown that teacher self-efficacy is consistently related to positive teaching and student learning outcomes (Tschannen- Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001; Gibson & Dembo, 1984 as cited in Penrose, Perry & Ball, 2007). High efficacious teachers can motivate their students and thus enhance their cognitive development. Gibson and Dembo (1984) found that teachers with high efficacy were better able to keep students engaged in learning activities and “spent more time monitoring and checking seat-work” (as cited in Penrose et al. 2007). Moreover, greater efficacy also allows teachers to be less critical of students when they make errors (Ashton & Webb, 1986 as cited in Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2002) and to work longer with a student who is struggling (Gibson & Dembo, 1984 as cited in Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2002). Evidence also suggest that teacher beliefs drive instructional pedagogy (Pajares,1992; Richardson, 1996; Thompson, 1992 as cited in Witcher et al, 2006). Teachers with strong efficacy tend to display greater levels of planning, organization and enthusiasm (Allinder, 1994 as cited in Tschannen - Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2002). Thus, identifying and 1 PhD student, Institute of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia ² PhD student, Institute of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia