K-3 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy for Teaching Reading and Its Relationship on K-3 Students Reading Achievement: A Mixed-Methods Study

Author

Adrienne Dowden, Xavier University of LouisianaFollow

Date of Award

12-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Division of Education and Counseling

First Advisor

Ramona Perkins

Second Advisor

Timothy Glaude

Third Advisor

Zwila Martinez

Keywords

reading achievement, elementary, teachers' self-efficacy, reading outcomes, reading instruction, DIBELS

Abstract

Educators persistently grapple with heightened levels of accountability concerning their professional job performance, concomitant with the imperative to maintain commensurate standards in facilitating student achievement. Such circumstances engender heightened personal strain, potentially precipitating diminished self-esteem and consequently impeding the delivery of effective educational services to students, thereby compromising overall professional performance. Bandura (1997) delineated self-efficacy as the cognitive appraisal of one's capacity to orchestrate and execute specific tasks effectively. Moreover, he posited that individuals' anticipated outcomes are significantly influenced by their assessments of their competence to execute tasks in various contexts. Analogously, teachers' perceptions and attitudes regarding their students' overall performance are similarly governed by their beliefs in their instructional efficacy. This mixed-methods study aims to determine whether a relationship exists between teachers' self-efficacy in reading and their students' overall reading achievement as measured by v Louisiana’s K-3 Literacy Screener, the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) 8th Edition. The data collected focused on teachers' self-efficacy and students' reading achievement. This study employed qualitative data from participant TSELI, semi-structured interviews, and quantitative data from the Fall and Spring DIBELS 8th Edition assessments. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy for Literacy Instruction (TSELI) and semi-structured interviews were administered to teachers in grades kindergarten through third in one kindergarten through 8thgrade school in the southeastern Louisiana region. The anticipated findings of this research determined if there is a relationship between the teacher’s self-efficacy for reading instruction and K-3 students’ reading achievement. Additional demographic information about teachers in the study may provide further influences, such as years of experience and teacher preparation. The results of this research study can enhance teacher efficacy in delivering reading instruction and assist the district in providing instructional resources and teacher professional development that increase teacher efficacy in reading instructional practices.

Recommended Citation

Dowden, Adrienne, "K-3 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy for Teaching Reading and Its Relationship on K-3 Students Reading Achievement: A Mixed-Methods Study" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 179.
https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/etd/179