The relationship between teacher self-efficacy, collective teacher efficacy, and job satisfaction: a study with english foreign language instructors in Türkiye

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between teacher efficacy, collective teacher efficacy and teacher job satisfaction of EFL instructors working in schools of foreign language (preparatory English programs) at Turkish universities. Another aim is to investigate if prep school EFL instructors’ academic background and level-based system in foreign language schools are related to teacher self-efficacy beliefs or not and to what extend teacher self and collective efficacy predict the different aspects of job satisfaction such as intrinsic and extrinsic factors. A quantitative, correlational research design was used. Data were collected from 100 prep school EFL instructors employed at five universities in Ankara—four foundation and one public—through a questionnaire that included demographic items, the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale, the Collective Teacher Efficacy Scale, and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Short Form). The findings revealed that teacher self-efficacy had a relatively weak relationship with job satisfaction. However, collective teacher efficacy showed a stronger correlation, particularly with intrinsic aspects of job satisfaction such as personal growth and sense of value. Furthermore, instructors’ self-efficacy beliefs did not significantly vary according to their academic degree or the level of students they taught. These results emphasize the role of collective efficacy in shaping teachers’ job satisfaction and suggest its potential impact on improving teaching environments.