A Study On The Influence Of Teaching Practicum On M.Ed. English Teachers' Self-efficacy On Conducting Classroom Activities

From the 1990s to now,scholars at home and abroad have studied teacher self-efficacy mainly from the status quo of teachers' eficacy and its influencing factors.Classroom activity was highlighted to a new degree in the National English Curriculum Standards for High School issued in 2017.Under this background,for the tens of thousands of masters of education in the existing 41 universities that offer master's degree in education,exploring their self-efficacy on classroom activity has a positive significance in improving the quality of newly recruited middle school teachers.The teaching practicum arranged by normal universities aiming to help M.Ed.students accumulate teaching experiences,provides exactly the opportunity for researchers to explore M.Ed.students' sense of teacher self-efficacy in specific teaching contexts.Therefore,the study took the 55 M.Ed.students in School of Foreign Language in one normal university in China as participants,aiming to inquire the impact of teaching practicum on M.Ed.teachers' self-efficacy on classroom activity.Questionnaire and interview were the two research instruments adopted in this study.The questionnaire was sent to the M.Ed.teachers twice,one before the teaching practicum,and the other two weeks after the teaching practicum.Statistics obtained from questionnaires was dealt with by SPSS(version 25.0).In addition,according to statistics gained before and after the teaching practicum,six typical M.Ed.teachers were selected as interviewees.The interview served to complement the quantitative analysis.The following three questions were to be answered through analysis of the data obtained:(1)Before the teaching practicum,what are the characteristics of M.Ed.English teachers' self-efficacy on classroom activity?(2)After the teaching practicum,are there any changes in M.Ed.English teachers' self-efficacy on classroom activity?If yes,what are the changes?(3)What are the possible causes of the changes?The findings indicated that,firstly,generally M.Ed.English teachers'self-efficacy on classroom activity before teaching practicum was at a relatively high level.Among the three variables,gender,undergraduate majors,and teaching experience,only gender exerted significant influence on the M.Ed.English teachers'self-efficacy on classroom activities.Secondly,the statistics also indicated that the M.Ed.teachers' self-efficacy on classroom activity was significantly influenced by the teaching practicum,especially on the two dimensions of activity organization and implementation.Finally,the M.Ed.teachers accumulated valuable activity conduct experiences and vicarious experiences during the practicum.Besides,the encouragement or positive feedback from their instructors served to enhance their self-efficacy on classroom activity.Furthermore,the positive or negative psychological state they experienced in conducting activities would both help them learn how to design and conduct successful classroom activities thus strengthen their sense of self-efficacy on classroom activity.With the findings as basis,the study has the following implications:normal universities are supposed to add applied teaching skills upgrading courses around classroom activities;practicum schools should bend themselves to establish a helpful teaching and learning environment for M.Ed.teachers;M.Ed.teachers themselves should actively seek indirect and direct experiences about classroom activities.