The effects of laboratory-based and field-based practicum experience on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy Rachel Gurvitch a, * , Michael W. Metzler b a Department of Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3975, Atlanta, GA 30302-3975, United States b Department of Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, United States article info Article history: Received 4 March 2007 Received in revised form 28 July 2008 Accepted 12 August 2008 Keywords: Self-efficacy Teacher education programs Physical education abstract A well defined line of research has been conducted on the role of self-efficacy (Bandura, A. (1977). Self- efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.) in teaching and learning environments. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Laboratory-Based (LB) and Field-Based (FB) practicum experience on pre-service teachers’ efficacy levels within one Physical Education Teacher Education program. The participants were 59 undergraduate students who were placed into two groups, LB design (n ¼ 31) and FB design (n ¼ 28). A quasi-experimental design with two levels of treatment and no control group was implemented. Both groups were administered a version of the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) adapted for physical education teachers at four stages of their preservice program: (1) at or near entry; (2) at the start of their methods course sequence; (3) at the end of the methods course sequence, just prior to student teaching; and (4) at program completion. Results from a Repeated Measures ANOVA indicated significant differences between groups on one facet of teacher efficacy at Stages 2 and 3. Those differences are attributed to the differing levels of authentic teaching practice between groups, and the challenges posed to each group of preservice teachers prior to student teaching. By the end of student teaching, both groups’ efficacy levels were essentially equal, perhaps due to the similarly high level of authenticity across all subjects in that key experience. This study also highlights the importance of on-going, appropriate and authentic challenges in eventually establishing strong and stable efficacy levels among preservice teachers Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction A well defined line of research has been conducted on the role of self-efficacy in teaching and learning environments. Originated by Bandura (1977), self-efficacy has been defined as the ‘‘beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments’’ (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). Bandura (1997) hypothesized that self-efficacy levels influence an individual’s magnitude of adherence to specific goals and persis- tence while trying to achieve those goals. Teaching efficacy has been defined as ‘‘the extent to which the teacher believes he or she has the capacity to affect student perfor- mance’’ (Berman, McLaughlin, Bass, Pauly, & Zellman, 1979, p. 137). Essentially, it is the expressed level of confidence a teacher has in his/ her ability to help children learn. Research over the past two decades suggests a high correlation between teacher efficacy and other salient variables such as student achievement (Ashton & Webb, 1986; More & Esselman, 1992; Ross, 1992), teacher motivation (Midgley, Feldlaufer, & Eccles,1989), levels of novelty in instruction (Ghaith & Yaghi, 1997; Guskey, 1984; Stein & Wang, 1988), teacher enthusiasm (Allinder, 1994; Guskey, 1984), and commitment to teaching (Coladarci, 1992; Evans & Tribble, 1986). Researchers who have examined the efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers suggest that course work and teaching practica experiences differ greatly in their influence on pre-service teachers’ efficacy levels (Woolfolk-Hoy, 2000). Woolfolk-Hoy (2000) concluded that the development of teachers’ self-efficacy is essential for producing effective, committed and enthusiastic teachers; yet, much regarding the development and maintenance of teaching efficacy throughout a teacher education program remains to be learned. Likewise, very little is known about the impact of differing structures of teacher education programs on the development of teaching efficacy. Therefore, the purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the effects of two divergent programmatic structures on pre-service teachers’ efficacy. 2. The development of teacher efficacy Embedded within Bandura’s social cognitive theory is the notion that individuals’ self-beliefs regarding their capabilities affects their * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 (404) 413 8374; fax: þ1 (404) 413 8053. E-mail address: rgurvitch@gsu.edu (R. Gurvitch). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Teaching and Teacher Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tate 0742-051X/$ – see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.08.006 Teaching and Teacher Education 25 (2009) 437–443