Parrott, M: Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs

Every year, eager pre-service teachers graduate from universities and look forward to stepping into their own classrooms for the first time. All too often, however, this enthusiasm is short lived because these beginners encounter challenges along the way that may result in their early departure from the profession. The problem of attrition may be addressed long before the student of teaching transitions to teacher. A meaningful response begins at the university when teacher education programs provide experiences that prepare beginners for the realities of the profession. An important part of this preparation is the opportunity for future teachers to explore their belief systems, and efficacy beliefs in particular since they influence a teacher‘s ability to cope with daily classroom challenges. This study examines the mathematics teaching self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs of pre-service elementary and pre-service secondary teachers and suggests implications for promising teacher education practices.