Investigating the relationship between urban first and second grade classroom teachers' sense of efficacy for literacy instruction and the reading achievement of their highly mobile students

Abstract

This correlation design study investigated the relationship between urban first and second grade classroom teachers’ sense of efficacy for literacy instruction and the reading achievement of their highly mobile students. Teachers’ sense of efficacy for literacy instruction was shown in previous studies to be correlated to student achievement. To obtain data for this study, a modified version of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy for Literacy Instruction Scale (TSELS) questionnaire was administered to 48 urban first and second grade classroom teachers within a single school district located in the southwestern region of the United States. Students’ pre and posttest scores in fluency and comprehension obtained from beginning- and end-of-the-year Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) provided additional data on student achievement. Analyses using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) determined that there was not a statistically significant difference between urban first grade classroom teachers’ sense of efficacy and urban second grade classroom teachers’ overall sense of efficacy for literacy instruction for their highly mobile students: F(2, 45a0 = .94, p = .40; Wilks Lambda = .96 at p, .05; partial eta squared = .04. There was not a statistically significant difference between first and second grade classroom teachers’ sense of efficacy on the subscales of efficacy for integrating the language arts and differentiating instruction. Paired sample t-tests determined there was significant growth in the reading achievement of highly mobile first grade students and highly mobile second grade students. Independent samples t-tests found no significant difference in the growth of reading achievement between highly mobile first grade students and highly mobile second grade students. Finally, multiple regression analyses concluded that there was not a statistical relationship between teachers’ sense of efficacy for literacy instruction and the reading achievement of their highly mobile first and second grade students.