Pre-service primary school teachers' self-efficacy for teaching social studies: An Indonesian perspective

Pre-service teachers need to develop strong self-beliefs about their ability to promote student learning. This study employed a quantitative descriptive approach with a survey method to examine pre-service primary school teachers' self-efficacy for teaching social studies and differences based on high school educational background and teaching experience. The participants were 60 undergraduate students in an Elementary School Teacher Education Program. The research instrument was a combination of selfcomposed statements and statements adapted from the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale and the Social Studies Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and an independent sample t-test. The findings indicated that preservice primary school teachers have a high level of self-efficacy, especially in the social studies learning dimension. It was found that a high school educational background made a significant difference in self-efficacy in teaching social studies in inquiry learning. However, there was no statistically significant difference in self-efficacy based on teaching experience.