Mathematics teachers’ career length and teaching self-efficacy




Grigaliuniene, Monika; Lehtinen, Erno

PublisherFrontiers Media SA

LAUSANNE

2025

Frontiers in Education

Frontiers in Education

FRONT EDUC

1536429

10

10

2504-284X

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1536429

https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1536429

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499418880



The influence of teachers' self-efficacy on the effectiveness of teaching is well-documented in educational research. The aim of this study was to investigate the construct of self-efficacy in mathematics teachers. The sample consisted of 222 Lithuanian pre-service teachers who were divided into four groups according to their length of teaching experience. Using a confirmatory factor analysis, the study identified different but highly correlated dimensions of teacher self-efficacy, in particular knowledge, recognition and (use of) methods. The results showed significant differences in general teacher self-efficacy and in the specific subscales according to career stage. Teachers at the beginning of their career or still in training (with less than 1 year of experience) generally reported lower levels of self-efficacy than more experienced groups; however, this difference was not statistically significant within the knowledge self-efficacy category. In addition, teachers with more than 30 years of experience reported lower levels of self-efficacy than teachers with 1-29 years of teaching experience.


The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article.


Last updated on 2025-22-08 at 10:16