Self-efficacy beliefs of K-12 teachers: The effects of a professional development program that is aligned with the common core state standards for literacy

In response to the need to train teachers to effectively integrate Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA/Literacy into elementary and secondary education, a program funded by a state department of education provided a year-long professional development program to K-12 teachers. This study investigated two questions: the impact of this program on 154 participants' self-efficacy in learning about and implementing both CCSS literacy standards and instructional strategies aligned with the CCSS, and the differential effects of this program on participants' self-efficacy due to contextual variables such as the content area or the grade level of the participating teacher. For question one, the data analyses from the pre-post- surveys revealed that the state-funded program significantly increased participants' teacher self-efficacy in literacy and Core-aligned instructional strategies. For the second question, no significant difference was found on program effects between participants with different contextual variables. Conclusions and discussion of the results suggest that teacher self-efficacy can substantially increase for participants regardless of grade level or content area when professional development is intentionally designed with five core characteristics.