AN INVESTIGATION OF PRE-SERVICE SCİENCE TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACYBELIEFS TOWARDS TEACHING AND THEIR TEACHING SKILLS

Abstract

The study aimed to scrutinize pre-service Science teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching, and their teaching skills. The study adopted the case study design, one of the qualitative research designs. The participants of the study consisted of 4 senior pre-service Science teachers who were selected using criterion sampling method, and on voluntary basisat a state university in Turkey in 2018-2019 academic year. The teacher self-efficacy scale, an observation form, and an interview form were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed via regression analysis and content analysis methods. The results showed that many of the teaching skills of the pre-service teachers remained below the medium level and their skill levels were generally acceptable and intermediate, and between intermediate and good levels. It was also determined that pre-service teachers had some wrong behaviors such as not ensuring student participation, not being able to attract students' attention, selecting inappropriate activities for the level of the students, being unable to concretize abstract concepts, not evaluating the level of student achievements, and inability of classroom management. As a result, although pre-service teachers have high self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching, their teaching skills are at medium level and they have deficiencies in the planning of teaching, and during teaching periods.