Self-Efficacy is situationally or contextually specific and thus there are no all-purpose models. Elementary physical education (EPE) is demanding in its curriculum and methodologies. PETE students often feel overwhelmed at the prospect of learning to teach EPE. However, no self-efficacy scale exists to measure student confidence toward teaching DPE. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and test the psychometric properties (via traditional scale development techniques and confirmatory factor analysis, CFA) of the Teaching EPE Self-Efficacy Scale (TEPESE) to measure teacher confidence in their ability to teach EPE.
Method:
The scale development consisted of two phases (a) item development and (b) confirmatory factor analysis. First, five PETE professors created thirty four statements intended to assess student confidence in six areas of instruction and management specific to DPE. Seven additional PETE professors familiar with DPE were asked to assessed each item for content and construct validity. Then, 120 former DPE students categorized the items into one of each of the six categories. CFA reduced the scale to 32 items demonstrating adequate fit indices. Next, factor scores for each self-efficacy factor were calculated using the parameter estimates from the factor analysis model. In contrast to simply averaging the item scores within each category, this approach facilitates an optimal quantification of each underlying factor.
Analysis/Results:
Item development results show accurate categorization for the majority of the items. Problematic items were identified and reexamined for further consideration. CFA results on the remaining 32-item, six-factor scale indicate an adequate fit (CFI = .840, RMSEA = .091). Factor loadings indicate strong relationships to proposed factors. Figures depict scale structure and tables list factor loadings and itme means.
Conclusions:
Researchers and PETE programs can benefit from an instrument that will assess the confidence with which students enter and exit preparation courses for DPE. This scale will provide the means to assess student self-efficacy toward key factors. Informed decisions about course content to optimize student self-efficacy can be made. This instrument can also be used for in-service teachers.