The effect of field-based experiences in the development of the sense of self-efficiency during the education of pre-school teachers
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Abstract
The present study applied the Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk (2001) self-efficiency scale to a sample group of an average of 69 teacher candidates enrolled in a Pre-school Education Teacher Preparation Program at Universidad Diego Portales in Chile. The objective of the study was to analyze the development of the self-efficiency of teacher candidates during their education. We hypothesized that the sense of efficiency reported would become stronger as candidates increased their exposure and participation in field-based experiences throughout the program. The results show a fluctuation of the self-efficiency among the training semesters, with a dissimilar behavior of the different factors of the efficiency evaluated. Explanations might be given about the results, opening the door for future interventions aiming at strengthening the sense of efficiency of the teacher trainees.