The Impact of Project-Based Learning on Teacher Self-Efficacy

The expansion of project-based learning has been advocated for as a solution and reform measure to the problem of rote learning-based teaching practices in Korean schools, deemed unfit for the development of diverse skills needed in the 21st century. While the ultimate goal of initiating project-based learning is to affect students in positive ways, it is important to analyze how conducting project-based learning affects teachers, as they are the direct implementers of teaching practices and are bound to have immense influence on the overall learning experience of students. By using the OECD TALIS database, we show that conducting project-based learning is strongly and positively associated with teacher self efficacy. Such results are in line with an analysis using data obtained from a field experiment on teacher training of project-based learning conducted on Daegu city middle schools.