Examining the development of teacher self-efficacy beliefs to teach reading and to attend to issues of diversity in elementary schools

With an increasingly diverse student population in the US and worldwide, it is imperative that teachers feel efficacious about their ability to teach children to read who are culturally and linguistically diverse from their teacher. This longitudinal study examined the developing self-efficacy beliefs as teachers (N = 127) moved from the preservice stage and then again after the same individuals had finished a year of teaching. Results indicated there was a decrease in self-efficacy for teaching reading and issues of diversity at the end of the teacher education program compared to first-year teachers. Findings also denoted that one program produced significantly higher scores at the preservice stage, but after a year of teaching, these differences disappeared. Recommendations for increasing teacher self-efficacy at both the preservice and novice teacher stage are provided in an effort to better support teachers in meeting literacy needs of all students regardless of their race or ethnicity.