European Journal of Educational Research Volume 5, Issue 2, 73 - 83. ISSN: 2165-8714 http://www.eu-jer.com/ Developing the Scale of Teacher Self-Efficacy in Teaching Process Fahrettin Korkmaz * Ministry of Education, Turkey Serkan Unsal Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Turkey Abstract: The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and valid measurement tool which will reveal teachers’ self -competences in education process. Participants of the study are 300 teachers working at state primary schools in the province of Gaziantep, Results of the exploratory factor analysis administered to the scale in order to determine its construct validity, indicated that it has four sub-dimensions. In accordance with the results of confirmatory factor analysis RMSEA was measured .050 level fit index. The determined levels for GFI is found to be 0.88, whereas for AGFI, 0.85 for NFI, 0.94 for CFI 0.98 and 0.94 for RFI. Also, non normed fit index, (NNFI) has been observed as 0.97. Four dimensions of the scale which was composed of 23 items account for approximately 54% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency was counted .86 for the first dimension; .82 for the second dimension, .67 for the third dimension, .70 for the fourth dimension, and .92 for the entire scale. The scale, developed in order to measure teachers’ self-efficacy in the teaching process, proved to be valid and reliable based on the results of the related analyses. Keywords: Self efficacy, efficacy, teachers’ self-efficacy, teaching process To cite this article: Korkmaz, F., & Unsal, S. (2016). Developing the Scale of Teacher Self-Efficacy in Teaching Process. European Journal of Educational Research, 5(2), 73-83. doi: 10.12973/eu-jer.5.2.73 Introduction Self-efficacy refers to the self-perception of teachers resulting from observations throughout the educational period or their opinions about their own competence. The perceptions or opinions about themselves are thought to be closely related to the performances of teachers. With this respect, if the competence perception about succeeding in any task is positive than there is high chance of being successful; but if the competence perception is low, than there is a high chance of having a failure (Tepe & Demir, 2012). There are various definitions in the literature about self-efficacy. According to Zulkosky (2009), self- efficacy refers to beliefs of people concerning how they think, how they feel; or the things that triggers or motivates them. Self-efficacy is the belief that is related to the target that one wants to achieve. According to Stajkovic and Luthans (1979), self-efficacy refers to; self-beliefs about a given task on whether the individual himself can complete it or not. According to Bandura (1985), self-efficacy refers to the beliefs of an individual about himself on whether he can carry out the given task or not. Senemoglu (2001) defines self- efficacy as the ability to generate solutions against various problems and the perception about one’s own potential. The term self-efficacy was initially used by social-cognitive theorists and especially by Bandura (Karahan, 2008). According to Bandura (1982, 1985), self-efficacy refers to self-beliefs that are required to arrange one’s abilities and carry out the plans. Beliefs about competence affect how a person thinks, acts and feels. According to Bandura (1985), who examined the source of self-efficacy, there are four factors that affect self-efficacy. The first and most crucial one is experience of mastery. The individual gathers various information about whether or not he will be successful. While achievements create beliefs about promoting self-efficacy; failure decreases it. The second factor that affects self-efficacy is the vicarious experience one obtains from social settings. By observing the achievements of others, the individual can generate a belief that he can achieve the same or similar task. The third factor is social persuasion. The suggestions that people receive from their surroundings about succeeding in a task can affect the self-belief about achieving it. The fourth and last factor that affects self- efficacy is physiological and emotional factors. Being emotionally and physically ready for displaying a behavior will help the individual in attempting for the task and developing a positive self-efficacy. According to Gist and Mitchel (1992), self-efficacy of an individual is closely related to the individual’s level of talent, motivation, self-perception and personality. When people with low self-efficacy encounter a difficult task, they consider this as a threat to ______________________ * Corresponding author: Fahrettin Korkmaz,Ministry of Education, Gaziantep, Turkey E-Mail:korkmaz2725@gmail.com