Online Teaching During COVID-19: An Analysis of Changing Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Julia Forgie; Marguerite Wang; Lisa Ain Dack; Miranda Schreiber

doi:10.21432/cjlt28610

Authors

Julia Forgie Victoria College, University of Toronto
Marguerite Wang Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Lisa Ain Dack Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Miranda Schreiber University of Toronto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21432/cjlt28610

Keywords:

Online Teaching, COVID-19., professional development, teaching efficacy

Abstract

This quantitative study investigated teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching online compared to teaching in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teacher self-efficacy is a significant predictor of both teacher practice and student outcomes. During the pandemic, teachers were forced to suddenly shift their teaching online and as a result, many new challenges were faced. Teachers from three teaching contexts (public, private, and virtual public schools) in Ontario, Canada completed the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (OSTES) and questionnaires measuring online teaching experience and training in May–June 2020 (phase 1) and again one year later, in May–June 2021 (phase 2). Results indicated that while the perceived self-efficacy of teachers improved over the course of the study, specifically in classroom management and student engagement, their perceived self-efficacy did not reach the levels reported for self-efficacy for in-person teaching, highlighting the persisting limitations educators experience in online learning environments. Additionally, efficacy for instructional strategies had not significantly increased by phase 2, indicating a particular need of targeted instruction for future teacher education programs. These results offer insights into the kind of experience and tools teacher education programs can extend to enhance teacher preparedness, and the conditions that best encourage improvements in self-efficacy for in-service teachers.

Author Biographies

Julia Forgie, Victoria College, University of Toronto

Julia Forgie is Assistant Professor in Teaching Stream and Coordinator of the Education & Society Program at Victoria College, University of Toronto in Canada. She is also a certified primary/junior teacher in Ontario and her research interests include preservice and in-service teacher training, teaching efficacy, and online teaching and learning.

Marguerite Wang, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Marguerite Wang is a Master of Arts student in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning and Research Assistant at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto in Canada. Her research interests include plurilingualism in classrooms, education in emergencies, linguistic minority students, and language policies through an international and comparative education lens.

Lisa Ain Dack, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Lisa Ain Dack is Assistant Professor in Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in Canada, where she teaches graduate-level education students. Her research focuses on teacher and administrator professional learning, data-based decision making, and educational leadership.

Miranda Schreiber, University of Toronto

Miranda Schreiber is a graduate of and research assistant at the University of Toronto in Canada. A Toronto-based writer and researcher, her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, BBC, The Toronto Star, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal, to name a few. Her first novel, Iris and the Dead, is available for preorder with Bookhug Press.

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