1. Teacher Efficacy in Zimbabwe: Stamina & Sacrifice
Judy K. Dunham, Ph.D.
Daniel Song’ony, Ph.D.
51st Annual Conference
Comparative & International Education Society
Baltimore, MD
March 1, 2007

2. Overview Type of Research Background of Zimbabwe Self-efficacy
Teacher Efficacy
Methods
Results
Limitations
Implications
Conclusion

3. Fast Facts Zimbabwe Independence in 1980… During the 1990s…
GDP per capita was $600
Most well-developed economies in Africa
During the 1990s…
Became one of 19 WEI* countries
Politically motivated crisis
White farms confiscated by government
Weakening of economic & political institutions
*World Education Indicators – Middle Income Countries

4. Current situation… In July, 2006… GDP $200
Economy fallen by 2/3 since independence
Food shortages
Near collapse of tourism
$700 (2003) to $70 million (2006)
Inflation is nearly 1000% (2006)
HIV/AIDS rate is 24.6%
Life expectancy is 39 years
Child mortality is 29/1,000
In July, 2006…

5. Education Literacy in adult population 62.5% Primary enrollment 65-90%
Primary to secondary transition 70%
Secondary enrollment 24-30% (est.)
Literacy in adult population 62.5%
UNESCO UIS 2004

6. These political, economic, and societal crises have led to the near collapse of all institutions.
Thousands of professionals have left Zimbabwe, yet there are those who remain….
Buckle, 2004; CIA Fact Book 2007; Hill, 2006; International Crisis Group, 2006;Lindow (2006); UNESCO 2007; World Bank, 2006; Zimbabwe: An Opposition Strategy, 2006; Zimbabwe Situation, 2004

7. Self-Efficacy Rotter’s (1966) Social Learning Theory
Two Theories
Rotter’s (1966) Social Learning Theory
Internal vs. External Locus of Control
Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory
Reciprocal Determinism

8. “Beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Bandura, 1986, p.3).

9. Efficacy is Enabling
Conviction
Estimate
Bandura (1977)

10. Expend – Persist - Rebound
Woolfolk & Hoy (1990), Tschannen-Moran & Hoy (2001)

11. Teacher Efficacy

12. Benefits of Teacher Efficacy
Linked to student achievement
Open to new ideas
Allow for student autonomy
Attention to high needs students
Build student self-confidence
Set goals
Persist when students fail
(Hoy & Spero, 2005)

13. Research in countries where teachers experience difficult environmental conditions could reveal additional insights about the construct of teacher efficacy.

14. Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy (2001)

15. OSTES Items How much can you do to get through to the
most difficult students?
To what extent can you craft good questions
for your students?
How well can you calm a student who is disruptive or noisy?

16. Subjects 23 educators from 9 rural schools
Sanyati West Schools Catchment

17. Results
RQ1: What are the levels of teacher efficacy of educators who work in a catchment of rural schools in Sanyati, Zimbabwe?
87.3% of responses in highest 3 levels
of 9-point Likert scale (7-9)
10.2% of responses in the mid-levels
(6-8)
Only 2.5% in lowest 3 levels

18. Means
23/24 items had mean score of 7.0 or above

19. Only 1 item resulted in 1/3 of the responses in low-mid levels

20. It was not possible to conduct a factor analysis
RQ2: Are the three primary factors in the OSTES - - instructional strategies, classroom management,
and student engagement – generally found in the responses of American teachers also present in the responses of the Zimbabwean teachers?
It was not possible to conduct a factor analysis
due to the small sample size. For a factor
analysis to be reliable, 300 subjects is
recommended.
(Tabschnick & Fidell, 2006, cited in Mertler & Vannatta, 2005)

21. RQ3: In this sample of teachers, are there significant differences between the 3 underlying structures generally found in previous research using the OSTES?
Means and Standard Deviations for Three Factors
Factors Mean SD
Factor 1
Instructional Strategies
Factor 2
Classroom Management
Factor 3
Student Engagement

22. RQ4: Are there significant differences in the level of teacher efficacy for years of experience?
Low = 0-5 yrs.
Med = 6-12 yrs.
High = yrs.
Analysis of Variance for Years of Experience –
____________________________________________________
Source SS df MS F 
Between Groups
Years of Exp
Total
__________________________________________________________

23. Discussion Possibility of cultural bias
OSTES measures personal rather than general teaching efficacy
OSTES does not include adequate # items related to environment

24. Personal Teaching Efficacy

25. Limitations
Sample size
Funding
Time

26. Implications Conduct confirmatory analysis of the
OSTES in Zimbabwe with larger sample of teachers
Collect comparative data from another country
in sub-Saharan Africa
Redesign OSTES to include external, general factors
Use qualitative methods to study contextual variables
Resources & facilities (Hoy & Spero, 2005)
Socio-cultural dimensions
(Sorrells, Schaller, & Yang, 200)
Culturally-specific teaching responsibilities
Ho & Hau (2004)

27. “In the world of human thought…the most fruitful concepts are those to which it is impossible to attach a well-defined meaning.”
Lewis (1991) A Question of Values

28. References
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Buckle, C. (July 5, 2004). School dropout. New Republic, 231(1/2) Retrieved on December 13, 2006, from EBSCOhost.
CIA – The World Factbook. (2007). Zimbabwe. Retrieved on February 22, 2007, from
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap…and others don’t. New York: HarperBusiness.
Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2000). Collective teacher efficacy: Its meaning, measure, and impact on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(2),
Hill, C. W. L. (2006). Global Business Today. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Hinton, P. R., Brownlow, C., McMurray, I., & Cozens, B. (2004). SPSS explained. New York: Routledge.
Ho, I. T., & Hau, K. (2004). Austrailian and Chinese teacher efficacy: Similarities and differences in personal instruction, discipline, guidance efficacy and beliefs in external determinants. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20,
Hoy, A.W. (2004). What do teachers need to know about self-efficacy? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Eduational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

29. References, cont.
Hoy, A. W. & Burke-Spero, R (2005). Changes in teacher efficacy during the early years of teaching: A comparison of four measures. Teacher and Teacher Education, 21,
International Crisis Group. (2006, August, 2). Zimbabwe: An opposition strategy. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from
Lindow, Megan. (June 23, 2006). Enemies of the State. Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(42). Retrieved on December 13, 2006, from EDSCOhost. Academic Search Premier
Mertler, C. A. & Vannatta, R. A. (2005). Advanced and multivariate statistical methods: Practical application and interpretation (3rd ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing.
Mji, A. & Kiviet, A. M. (2003). Psychometric characteristics of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Inventory in South Africa. Psychological Reports, 92,
Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 22 (3), pp
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement Psychological Monographs, 80, 1-28.
Selaledi, D. K. (1999). Teacher efficacy in the Free State province of South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 19(4),
Tschannen-Moran, M. & Hoy, A. W (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17,
Tschannen-Moran, M., Hoy, A. W., & Hoy, W. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68(2),

30. References, cont.
Wheatley, K. F. (2005). The case for reconceptualizing teacher efficacy research. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21,
Woolfolk, A. E., & Hoy, W. K. (1990). Prospective teachers’ sense of efficacy and beliefs about control. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82,
World Bank. (2007). Zimbabwe Data Profile. Retrieved February 23, 2007, from
Zimbabwe Situation. (2004, May 7). The rise and fall of Zimbabwe’s schools. BBC News. Message posted to