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Abstract
The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to compare participants certified through two post-baccalaureate career and technical education (CTE) teacher preparation programs (traditional and non-traditional) in terms of the teacher self-efficacy dimensions of student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. These three variables were assessed using the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy scale - long form (TSES; Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). The TSES is based on Bandura's (1977a, 1977b) theory of self-efficacy and cognitive social learning theory. The impact of years of teaching experience as an independent variable on teacher self-efficacy was examined. Invitation to participate in the study was extended through email invitations with a hyperlink to an online questionnaire. While 99 of the 144 invitations to participate in the study responded to the study, the attrition rate of 16 CTE teachers and one undergraduate teacher excluded 17 of the responses resulting in a 56.9% response rate. A total of 47 non-traditional program and 35 traditional program teachers that completed certification coursework during the same 5-year period answered the TSES scale. The majority of both certification program (non-traditional and traditional) participants were females certified in business education with similar mean ages of 38 and 37 respectively and similar mean years of teaching experience of 4.66 and 4.09 respectively. Using ratings for the three Teachers' Sense of Efficacy (TSES) subscales, means and standard deviations were calculated. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests. Three two-way analysis of variance found no significant difference between the interaction of program type and years of teaching experience and the three teacher efficacy subscales. Since these interactions were not significant both of the main effects were interpreted separately. The main effect for years of teaching experience (0-3 and 4+ years) was not statistically significant on all three subscales. The main effect for program type (traditional and non-traditional) was also not statistically significant on the three teacher efficacy subscales.