Development and validation of the pre-service teacher perceived sources of self-efficacy for differentiated instruction scale

Abstract

Teachers are increasingly expected to differentiate instruction to address the diverse learning needs of students. Developing strong sources of self-efficacy that support differentiated instruction during initial teacher education is therefore important. Relatively little is known about pre-service teachers' perceived sources of self-efficacy for differentiated instruction, and no scale has been developed for this population. The aim of this study was to develop and pilot an evaluation of a scale designed to measure pre-service teachers' perceived sources of self-efficacy regarding differentiated instruction. The scale was informed by Bandura's model of self-efficacy and Tomlinson's framework for differentiated instruction. A pilot study was conducted with pre-service teachers (N = 21) enrolled in a Master of Teaching (Initial Teacher Education) program in Australia. Exploratory factor analysis was used to inform systematic item reduction and to examine the plausibility of an underlying factor structure, alongside internal consistency reliability. This resulted in a 20-item instrument comprising four theoretically coherent factors aligned with Bandura's sources of self-efficacy. Preliminary findings suggest that observation of experienced teachers and mentoring during professional experience may be salient sources of self-efficacy during the preparatory phase of teacher education. Further large-scale validation is required to establish the stability and generalisability of the scale.