Exploratory study focusing on homeroom and specialist elementary teachers' teaching efficacy and their confidence in teaching science and mathematics

Abstract

Homeroom teachers at the primary level (Grades 1-6), usually not specialized in one subject, are required to teach all subject matters. It is often that the majority of homeroom teachers do have a degree in general education and not a specific subject, and yet need to teach most subjects, even ones they may not be comfortable teaching. This study aims to: (a) compare the teaching efficacy of homeroom primary teachers to that of specialized teachers, and (b) explore the extent to which the curriculum provided to homeroom teachers provides the necessary content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for effective teaching and promotion of deeper understandings of content. My study was exploratory and the methodology appropriate for my study was a mixed-method approach that involved questionnaire and interview data. Mixed methods research is formally defined as the class of research where the researcher mix or combine quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, concepts, or languages into a single study (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). The qualitative research methods included interviews with ten homeroom and ten specialized elementary teachers and interviews with two principals from the two elementary models (homeroom and specialist). Quantitative research methods included sections of two related and widely used Likert-scale questionnaires the “Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument” (STEBI), and the “Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument” (MTEBI) (Riggs & Knochs, 1990; Enochs et al., 2000). My interview data showed that homeroom teachers expressed higher compared to specialized in terms of motivation and well-being as teachers, they also felt supported by their schools in terms of professional development and being provided with useful teaching resources. Interview and questionnaire data showed that homeroom teachers’ sense of efficacy emerged as the same and at times greater than the specialist teachers. The findings are further discussed along with implications and recommendations for subsequent research and practice.