Science teaching self-efficacy of culturally foreign teachers: A baseline study in Abu Dhabi

International Journal of Educational Research 66 (2014) 78–89

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International Journal of Educational Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedures

Science teaching self-efficacy of culturally foreign teachers: A baseline study in Abu Dhabi Merryn McKinnon a,*, Jase Moussa-Inaty b, Lydia Barza b a

Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, The Australian National University, Physics Link Building 38a, Acton, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia b Zayed University, College of Education, PO Box 144534, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Article history: Received 5 August 2013 Received in revised form 19 March 2014 Accepted 31 March 2014 Available online 8 May 2014

This study focuses on the self-efficacy of teachers working in a culturally foreign environment. The research presented describes an exploratory study examining the science teaching efficacy beliefs of culturally foreign teachers in Abu Dhabi’s primary schools, private and public. A standardized teacher self-efficacy instrument (STEBI A) specific to science education was used to collect data on teachers’ perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses in the area of science education. Results showed a much lower sense of self-efficacy in comparison to other studies elsewhere in the world, and indicate cultural adaptation – both personal and professional – may influence teaching efficacy of beginning and experienced teachers. Self-efficacy of teachers working within a culturally different environment is an underexplored field and is worthy of future research. ß 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Primary school Science education Teacher self-efficacy United Arab Emirates

1. Introduction Teaching is an increasingly global profession, as the international school movement grows in response to an ever expanding expatriate market world wide (McNamara, Lewis, & Howson, 2004). Shortages of teachers in countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and Australia have helped to drive the demand for foreign trained, or supply, teachers (Cruickshank, 2004) as has the demand for teachers of English worldwide (McNamara et al., 2004). The effectiveness of supply teachers may be influenced by a variety of factors. Self-efficacy beliefs are strong predictors of behaviour as they can describe how individuals may take on challenges, overcome obstacles and respond to uncertainty (Bandura, 1997). The concept of self-efficacy has been widely explored in the literature, however few studies have examined how cultural factors influence motivational beliefs (Klassen, Bong, et al., 2009; Klassen, Foster, Rajani, & Bowman, 2009). For example, some scholars have expressed concerns about professional isolation between more permanent teachers and the supply teacher (McNamara et al., 2004; Shilling, 1991) which may have implications for teacher effectiveness. Despite the obvious relationship between beliefs and an individual’s ability to adjust to new, potentially challenging circumstances (Tsang, 2001), there is a gap in the literature regarding the self-efficacy of individuals working in a culturally foreign environment. The construct of self-efficacy is context specific (Bandura, 1997), and although self-efficacy in one context could be related to self-efficacy in another, examinations of self-efficacy must be tailored to the specific area of interest in order to obtain meaningful results (Peterson, Milstein, Chen, & Nakazawa, 2011).

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 6125 4951; fax: +61 2 6125 8991. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. McKinnon), [email protected] (J. Moussa-Inaty), [email protected] (L. Barza). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2014.03.001 0883-0355/ß 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Thus, these beliefs could be particularly revealing (see Ferguson, 2011) about how teachers adapt within their foreign teaching context. Internationally, research is focussing on ways to improve science teaching in primary schools to enhance student engagement in the sciences (Osborne & Dillon, 2008; Palmer, 2007; Tytler, 2003; Varley, Murphy, & Veale, 2008). Science teaching self-efficacy beliefs have been explored in the science education literature for the last two decades (van AalderenSmeets, Walma van der Molen, & Asma, 2012). However, there is little research to date that examines the science teaching self-efficacy of supply teachers and teachers’ beliefs about teaching students from different cultures (Settlage, Southerland, Smith, & Ceglie, 2009). An examination of how well these foreign teachers adapt to a novel culture and environment, particularly to their own school and classroom, is needed to help map the international teaching terrain (Ferguson, 2011). This paper will begin to address this gap using Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a case study. The UAE has undergone rapid transformation since its Federation in 1971 and the discovery of petroleum resources. In twenty years it transformed from one of the least developed and poorest nations to one with some of the highest per capita incomes in the world (el Mallakh, 1981). Now, more than 40 years after federation, the UAE has a heavy reliance on imported labour, with expatriates (non-Emiratis) comprising 85% of its workforce, and about 80% of the total country population (Australian Government, 2013). This has had an impact on the education system of the UAE. The number of private educational institutions has risen tremendously over the years in order to meet the increasing demand caused by the increase of expatriates – and this necessitated hiring supply teachers from abroad (McKinnon, Barza, & Moussa-Inaty, 2013). This paper will begin by examining the importance of science engagement internationally, particularly for developing countries. This is followed by a brief review of the literature on teacher efficacy and science education, which will further highlight the significance of the inquiry. It will then discuss the role of supply teachers in these developing countries, with particular focus on cultural effectiveness. A general overview of science education in Abu Dhabi is provided in order to contextualize the results of the study. The paper concludes with implications for recruiters of supply teachers and teacher trainers. Recommendations for practical steps to enhance teachers’ adaptations to culturally foreign settings, ultimately enhancing teacher satisfaction and student outcomes, are also provided. 1.1. Aim and scope The aim of this preliminary research is to examine the science teaching self-efficacy beliefs of supply teachers working in Abu Dhabi’s primary schools. Both public and private schools are used to ensure the broadest possible representation of teachers in the different school contexts. The findings from this research will add to a paucity of literature about the selfefficacy beliefs of foreign teachers, despite the clearly established links between self-efficacy, cross cultural adjustment and subsequent job performance in other fields (see for example Tsang, 2001). Science has been chosen to provide a simple snapshot – based on a well established and validated measure – for this exploratory case study. These findings will inform both national (UAE) and international educational systems reliant on supply teachers about the additional support they require to facilitate their cultural adjustment and will identify areas for further research. 2. Research method 2.1. Participants Seven public schools and nine private international schools, yielding a combined total of 114 teachers, consented to participate in this study. Respondents were teachers in the primary years (grades 1–5). The majority of teachers in both private and public schools were Westerners, predominantly from the UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. To ensure anonymity a breakdown of the numbers of each group will not be provided. 2.2. Procedures A complete list of primary schools was obtained from the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone (ADEZ). Any public or private school that taught grades one to five was eligible for inclusion in the study. Schools were contacted by telephone and invited to participate in the study. Of the schools that expressed an interest in participating, the school principal or the science coordinator was nominated as the liaison between the school and the researchers. The liaison in each school was sent a letter of invitation via email that outlined the purpose of the survey, requirements of participants, and contact details of the principal researchers and the head of the University Ethics Committee. Once permission to participate had been granted, the researchers then either emailed or gave hard copies of the surveys and consent forms to the liaison to distribute to all teachers of science in years one to five, which were collected one week later. 2.3. Instrumentation and data analyses 2.3.1. Science teaching self-efficacy belief instrument The Science Teaching Self-Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI A – Riggs & Enochs, 1990) was used for this study as it is a validated instrument specific to science teaching. The context specificity of the instrument makes it a more appropriate measure for the purposes of this exploratory case study (Peterson et al., 2011).

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The STEBI A is comprised of 25 items, and requires the teacher respondent to indicate their level of agreement with the statement provided on a five point Likert scale. The 25 items of the STEBI A form two internal scales – personal science teaching efficacy belief (PSTE – 13 items) and science teaching outcome expectancy (STOE – 12 items). These two scales denote the relationship of the instrument to Bandura’s two factor theory of efficacy (Bleicher, 2004) which are efficacy expectation and outcome expectancy. Each scale yields a score, providing an indication of efficacy belief for PSTE and STOE. The range of scores for the PSTE scale is 13–65, and the range for the STOE scale is 12–60. The validity (Riggs & Enochs, 1990) and reliability (de Laat & Watters, 1995; Ramey-Gassert, 1994) of these two scales has been examined in prior research within a range of contexts including subject specificity (Enochs, Smith, & Huinker, 2000) and in different languages (Andersen, Dragsted, Evans, & Sorenson, 2003; Park, 1996). The STEBI A is one of the most extensively tested and used instruments to measure science teaching self-efficacy, and has been validated for use with the majority of nationalities of this study’s participants (see for example Ginns et al., 1995), rendering it an appropriate tool to use in this particular study. In order to statistically analyze the surveys, the IBM SPSS Statistics software was used. Surveys were initially analyzed for internal reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. Riggs and Enochs (1990) recorded alpha values of 0.92 for the PSTE and 0.77 for the STOE scales. The alpha values calculated for this current study were 0.86 for the PSTE and 0.60 for the STOE. Robinson, Shaver and Wrightsman (1991) set a generally applied minimum threshold for an item to be included in the STEBI analysis which is a corrected item-total correlation value of 0.3. Examination of the PSTE scale found all item except for item number two had corrected item-total correlations above 0.3. The removal of item two increased the alpha to 0.87, which indicates a good level of instrument reliability. The STOE scale was more problematic as many of the items had corrected item-total correlation values of less than 0.3. Exclusion of all of these items would have had a negligible effect; only the removal of item 20 would increase the alpha. Item 20 was thus excluded and the alpha recalculated, giving a value of 0.61, which is acceptable (George & Mallery, 2003) but does indicate a limitation in analysis strength. The exclusion of the single items from both the scales altered the range for the PSTE scores from 13–65 to 12–60, and the range of STOE scores from 12–60 to 11–55. 2.3.2. General demographic survey A general survey asked teachers for basic demographic information such as age and gender, number of years of teaching experience, and the number of science subjects they had completed during their teaching qualification. Data entry was completed by one of the researchers only, and the entered data cross-checked against the hard copy surveys by all of the researchers. 3. Theory 3.1. Student engagement in science: developed versus developing countries By the time students reach secondary school, many have already excluded science from their subject choices (Osborne & Dillon, 2008). The Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) survey, a comparative study conducted with 15 year old students internationally, showed that children from developed countries were less likely to want careers in these fields compared to their counterparts in developing countries (Sjøberg & Schreiner, 2005). This trend continued from 2005 to 2010 with students in wealthy countries, particularly girls, being the least enthusiastic about wanting to study science in school in comparison to both genders in developing countries (Sjøberg & Schreiner, 2010). A possible explanation for this could be the nature of the topics in science curricula and textbooks. The ROSE study showed that the typical curriculum was seen as less interesting by students in developed countries, especially Nordic and Japanese students (Sjøberg & Schreiner, 2010). These findings were echoed in a comparative study of students in Ireland, the UK and Australia which found that although students were largely enthusiastic about learning science, they did not seem to relate their learning to life beyond school (Varley et al., 2008). The same appears true in the UAE as evidenced by its reliance on foreign labour for positions in science fields due to a shortage of qualified Emiratis (Al Kibsi, Benker, & Schuber, 2007). Further, student engagement in science is heavily dependent upon the teacher (Holstermann, Grube, & Bo¨geholz, 2010; Perera & Stocklmayer, 2013). Therefore, teachers’ beliefs about science and science teaching are integral to understanding student attitudes towards science. 3.2. Supply teachers Teacher shortage is experienced by both developed and developing countries, and a common strategy for both is to import teachers from elsewhere to fill the gap (McNamara et al., 2004). The population structure of developing countries often shows a ‘‘youth bulge’’ (Johnson et al., 2012, p. 258) which subsequently places greater demand on the education system. As some developing countries ‘‘attempt to increase the access to schooling, the growth in the number of school-aged children has outpaced the growth in the number of teachers in most of these countries’’ (Cooper & Alvarado, 2006, p. 15) necessitating the recruitment of foreign teachers. Globalisation has allowed greater mobility for people seeking opportunities abroad, blurring the lines that traditionally separated different countries and cultures (Kambutu & Nganga, 2008). Many overseas teachers are employed as supply teachers, often motivated by the chance of improved financial prospects and greater flexibility (de Villiers, 2007).

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Other benefits include opportunities to travel, gaining experience in different education systems and exploring new cultures (de Villiers, 2007; McNamara et al., 2004). The host country also benefits, not only from receiving a much-needed teacher in areas of shortage (Cruickshank, 2004), but through providing students with an appreciation of cultural diversity, global perspectives and respect for all cultures (Bernardo & Malakolunthu, 2013). There is the misconception however, that supply teaching is easy and any qualified teacher will be able to teach in any school (McNamara et al., 2004). For many teachers who are experienced and have been exposed to diverse learners, this indeed could be the case. However any teacher who travels abroad may be faced with ‘‘enormous cultural challenges’’ (Ferguson, 2011, p. 26); may find the experience demanding and lonely (McNamara et al., 2004); and may find student behaviour and the curriculum to be completely foreign and confronting (Cruickshank, 2004). These challenges may impact a teacher’s self-beliefs. A study of overseas trained teachers working in the UK found that teachers believed the students to be both the most challenging and most rewarding aspects of the job (McNamara et al., 2004). As the prevalence of multicultural classrooms and schools increases internationally (Settlage et al., 2009), multicultural education is a growing field of research (Bernardo & Malakolunthu, 2013). However, there is very little research that has been conducted on teachers’ beliefs in their ability to teach children from different cultures (Settlage et al., 2009) or their ability to adapt to living and working within a different cultural environment. This is an important area to examine as ‘‘being immersed in a culture that is not one’s own, provides an experience that is rife with communication challenges, as well as opportunities for personal growth’’ (Peterson et al., 2011, p. 290). 3.3. Teachers’ self efficacy and science education Self-efficacy is grounded in Albert Bandura’s theory on social learning. Bandura (1977) postulated that there are two central parts of self-efficacy: an individual’s belief in their ability to achieve a desired behaviour (efficacy expectation); and their belief that the achievement of the desired behaviour will lead to a desirable outcome (outcome expectancy). Behaviour then, ‘‘is better predicted by one’s beliefs regarding one’s capabilities. . .than by the reality of what one is actually capable of doing’’ (Peterson et al., 2011, p. 292). Numerous studies have examined the influence of different factors on teacher self-efficacy, such as previous science experiences (Hanuscin, Akerson, & Phillipson-Mower, 2006), science methods courses during university teacher training (Palmer, 2006), mentors (Luft, 2007) and continuing professional development (McKinnon and Lamberts, 2014; Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002). However, the majority of these studies have been conducted in Western countries, particularly the US and UK (Bayraktar, 2011). There are studies that have examined the applicability of self-efficacy studies in non-Western settings. A study compared teachers in Canada, Cyprus, Korea, Singapore and the United Kingdom using the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), developed by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001). The authors of this study concluded that teachers’ ‘‘beliefs about personal capabilities to teach appear to operate in similar ways across a diverse range of countries. . .[and] appears to function in the same way across borders’’ (Klassen, Bong, et al., 2009; Klassen, Foster, et al., 2009, p. 75). Other literature did use the STEBI A in non-native English speaking cultures, but these teachers were still operating within a familiar cultural context. A study of 282 Taiwanese primary teachers and their view of science teaching self-efficacy found that the greatest influence on their efficacy beliefs was the number of years of science teaching experience they had (Brady, Chia-Ju, & Houn-Lin, 2008). Teachers with more than ten years of experience tended to score higher on both PSTE and STOE scales than those with less. Brady et al. (2008) do acknowledge that this does contradict the findings of others, specifically Desouza, Boone and Yilmaz (2004), who found in their study of over 300 Indian primary teachers, working within India, that those with a greater number of years of teaching experience tended to have lower levels of self-efficacy in science teaching. The teachers in Desouza et al.’s (2004) study taught grades 1–5. They taught science as well as other core subjects, and also typically had a large number (25–30) of multilingual students in their classrooms. Therefore, Desouza et al. (2004) appears to be the only study with classrooms comparable to those of teachers working in the UAE as presented here. There appears to be no research on the science teaching self-efficacy beliefs of culturally foreign teachers. A study by the first author (McKinnon and Lamberts, 2014) found teachers who worked in different educational contexts tended to exhibit lower science teaching self-efficacy beliefs. However, these were two teachers in a larger sample and their educational context was coincidental, and not the focus of that study. Therefore this is indicative rather than conclusive, and requires further examination. The only other study which appears to examine culturally foreign teachers is based within the Yukon territory in Canada’s north (Klassen, Bong, et al., 2009; Klassen, Foster, et al., 2009). Teachers were typically Euro-Canadian and their students were of First Nations heritage. The focus of Klassen et al.’s study was more on the cultural transitions being made by the students, parents and the communities however these cultural aspects were found to increase ‘‘the challenges and stress inherent in teaching in the North’’ (2009, p. 392). The authors of this study conclude that teachers in ‘remote settings’ may have lower levels of self-efficacy beliefs (Klassen, Bong, et al., 2009; Klassen, Foster, et al., 2009). This remoteness could be geographical or cultural, and thus the potential influence warrants further examination. There are studies which indicate that self-efficacy beliefs could be shaped by cultural values (Lin, Gorrell, & Taylor, 2002), and that past experiences determine beliefs about one’s ability to successfully adapt cross-culturally (Harrison, Chadwick, & Scales, 1996). This latter finding pertained to general self-efficacy, and the authors acknowledged that ‘‘scales of perceived self-efficacy must be tailored to the particular domain of functioning that is the object of interest’’ (Harrison et al., 1996, p. 295), further justifying the specific examination of science teaching self-efficacy in this study. Overall there are very few

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studies that explore the influence of social, cultural and environmental factors on teachers’ beliefs (Klassen, Bong, et al., 2009; Klassen, Foster, et al., 2009), a gap which this paper attempts to address. 3.4. Cultural adjustment and self-efficacy Research into teachers’ cross-cultural adaptive capabilities is limited (Cruickshank, 2004; Ferguson, 2011), however research on cultural adjustment self efficacy in the business and military fields is more progressive and relevant to teachers working in a foreign culture. As Rehg, Gundlack, and Grigorian (2012) state: Although the context differs. . .knowledge and understanding of the behaviour of other cultures takes place at an individual level. Thus, we can explore. . .the functioning of individuals across cultures regardless of what context they operate in, while the manifestation of that knowledge and understanding may differ operationally (p. 216). Irrespective of occupation, the effectiveness of an individual working in a foreign culture is largely determined by their ability to appropriately adjust their behaviour to fit their new cultural context (Harrison et al., 1996). Those that can adjust are effective employees. Those that cannot are typically ineffective, and often return to their home country prematurely (Black & Mendendahll, 1989). Therefore, we argue that examining the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers working in a culturally foreign environment could provide an indication of their ability to adapt to a different context. This is an important area to examine for teacher recruiters in particular as they determine which individuals to hire for schools in dire need of staff. Further, using science teaching self-efficacy beliefs provides an indication of how teachers may behave in the classroom (Gencer & Cakiroglu, 2007). Teachers who are culturally responsive are increasingly desirable in schools internationally (Bernardo & Malakolunthu, 2013; Kambutu & Nganga, 2008; Settlage et al., 2009). When there is a large disparity between the cultural backgrounds of teachers and students, then teachers may have low expectations and use inappropriate teaching strategies (Cooper & Alvarado, 2006). In contrast, a culturally responsive teacher is able to recognize ‘‘the link between culture and the manner in which people interact with each other’’ (Kambutu & Nganga, 2008, p. 941) and thereby adopt appropriate teaching methods or ‘‘intercultural competencies’’ (Bernardo & Malakolunthu, 2013, p. 64). Some researchers advocate for incorporating cross cultural skills and experiences into teacher preparation programmes (Hilliard, 1998; Kambutu & Nganga, 2008). However, as Ferguson (2011) states, it takes more than culturally appropriate pedagogy to make a good culturally responsive teacher. This supports the position held by Siwatu (2007) who argues that although the inclusion of cross cultural experience would potentially create culturally competent teachers, it still would not provide an accurate indication of their future behaviour in the classroom. Self-efficacy, however, does provide this accurate indication (Gencer & Cakiroglu, 2007). Thus, this paper looks at science teaching self-efficacy beliefs of supply teachers, using Abu Dhabi as the case study. 3.5. Overview of Abu Dhabi’s educational system Schools in Abu Dhabi tend to attract a mix of beginning and more experienced teachers, from a range of different nationalities, training programmes and cultures. Previous studies have examined the efficacy beliefs of English Foreign Language teachers within their own ‘home’ culture (see for example Atay, 2007), but this is the first study of science teaching self-efficacy of teachers in a culturally foreign context, specifically within the UAE. To gain employment as a primary teacher within the Abu Dhabi Emirate, prospective teachers should be highly qualified with a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education preferred or a Bachelor’s Degree in Education at the primary level. They must also have ‘‘an acceptable standard of proficiency in the English language’’ (Al Abed, Vine, Hellyer, & Vine, 2008, p. 233). This criterion is, at least in part, the reason why culturally foreign teachers are recruited. Throughout the UAE there are more than 400 English language medium schools (ISC Research, 2013), many of which are in Abu Dhabi. As an indicator of standard proficiency, an International English Language Test Score (IELTS) of six is the minimum requirement (IELTS, 2013). Teachers are also expected to undertake professional development and training throughout the school year (Al Abed et al., 2008). There are about 450 schools throughout Abu Dhabi emirate; approximately 265 public, and 185 private schools (ADEC, n.d.-a, n.d.-b). Public schools typically cater to Emirati students only, and employ about 14,000 teachers from more than 30 countries, the majority (60%) of whom are Emirati nationals (Badri et al., 2011). Thus the student body is fairly culturally uniform, however the teaching staff is quite culturally diverse. Even when the country culture is similar to a teachers’ home culture, teachers would still need to ‘‘adjust to the host institutional environment that can differ by a great deal from that of his or her home country’’ (Tsang, 2001, p. 365). Private schools cater to approximately 200,000 students of different nationalities, including about 50,000 Emiratis (ADEC, n.d.-a). Half of the teaching workforce in Abu Dhabi is employed in private schools (Badri et al., 2011). Teachers in private schools are not only in a culturally foreign setting themselves, but many of their expatriate students are as well. This creates myriad challenges for teachers attempting to adapt themselves to a culturally different environment, while also trying to meet the needs of a very diverse classroom and student body. Abu Dhabi’s public schools have been at the centre of a reform agenda to elevate student performance and education delivery to international standards. This reform effort spans all areas of education from the physical environment and resources, curriculum, assessment, teaching methods, to health and wellbeing. A key element of change has been the

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Table 1 Age and teaching experience of respondents, comparing between public and private schools. Age

Public

Private

21–26 27–32 33–38 39–44 45–50 51–56 57–62 Missing

3 12 6 2 4 2 1 0

9 37 14 10 5 5 3 1

Experience <1 1–3 4–6 7–9 10–14 15–20 20+ Missing

1 2 12 4 6 3 3 0

3 15 26 14 12 6 6 1

language of instruction. The language of instruction in primary schools operating under the reform effort, called the New School Model (NSM), differs by subject area. The teachers recruited to teach science and mathematics in Abu Dhabi’s public primary schools in the last two years are mostly native English speakers (Badri et al., 2011) and are now all expected to teach mathematics and science in English rather than Arabic. Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has also placed more emphasis on science as a subject area, increasing the teaching time and investing more resources (Badri et al., 2011). As stated previously, both public and private schools were included in this study to provide a broader overview of supply teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy from all available contexts. 4. Results 4.1. Participant demographics Of the 114 participants, 31 were from public schools and 83 were from private schools. For each of these groups, the majority was between 27 and 32 years of age, with the next most common age being the group from 33 to 38 years (Table 1). The majority of participants (about 70%) were from private schools. For both private and public schools, the majority of respondents had between four and six years of teaching experience (Table 1). Beginning teachers with between one and three years of experience were more commonly found in the private schools. The next most common level of teaching experience in public schools was 10–14 years. 4.2. Self-efficacy results The STEBI results show very low means on both self-efficacy scales for all respondents (Table 2). Comparing the PSTE and STOE scale scores against the amount of teaching experience showed that participants with less than a year of teaching had the lowest average PSTE score (20), while teachers with between one and three years of teaching

Table 2 Results for STEBI scales overall and comparing respondent groups based on school type and then teaching experience. Respondent group

N

PSTE mean

PSTE range

STOE mean

STOE range

All groups Public school Private school <1 yr experience 1–3 yrs exp 4–6 yrs exp 7–9 yrs exp 10–14 yrs exp 15–20 yrs exp 20+ yrs exp

114a 31 83 4 17 38 18 18 9 9

24.84 29.49 26.02 20.00 26.82 25.13 23.61 24.06 23.78 26.67

13–47 14–47 13–38 16–24 20–38 13–42 18–32 13–47 15–29 16–45

29.43 20.09 20.22 31.25 25.88 30.26 28.28 29.89 31.56 31.11

13–40 19–39 13–40 27–39 13–33 22–38 21–35 21–37 24–40 23–38

a

One respondent did not answer the teaching experience question; overall n for teaching experience = 113.

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Fig. 1. Comparison of average PSTE and STOE scores between experience levels.

held the highest average score (26.82), only marginally higher than those with over 20 years of experience (26.67 – see Fig. 1). Conversely, the least experienced respondents had one of the highest average STOE scores (31.25), whereas the teachers in the one to three years of experience category returned the lowest average STOE score (25.88). Respondents were asked if they had studied science subjects during their teacher qualification, or held any science related qualifications (like a science degree). Previous science experience beyond the high school level was common, with 61.4% of respondents indicating they had more advanced education in science. Fig. 2 shows the breakdown of the school type, experience levels and further science education of the participants. Across all experience levels, those with less than 10 years of experience were more likely to have studied some science, with respondents from private schools with six years or less of experience the most likely. More experienced teachers (15 or more years) were less likely to have studied science overall. Comparing science education levels of teachers in different school types showed 64.52% of public school and 59.04% of private school respondents had further science education. The average STEBI scores were compared between those participants who had further science education and those who did not. The PSTE scores were slightly higher for those participants without further science education (26.40) in comparison to those with (24.03) but a t-test showed that this difference was not statistically significant. The STOE scores were similar across both groups: those with further science education had an average of 29.59 and those without of 29.18.

Fig. 2. Comparison of length of teaching experience and formal science study in all respondents.

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5. Discussion Results showed generally low STEBI scores for all participants, especially in comparison to the means of PSTE scores returned in other studies. For example in his study with 12 Australian in-service teachers, Palmer (2011) yielded an initial mean PSTE score of 44 for his participant cohort. Author 1 (2014) found initial PSTE and STOE means of 46.58 and 33.51, respectively, also with Australian teachers. The seminal study by Enochs and Riggs (1990) with American teachers had similar means to these studies, with a larger participant cohort. A search of the literature did not find any studies using the STEBI to examine the self-efficacy of teachers working in a culturally foreign context. Very few studies appear to publish the means of the STEBI scales, which limits the number of direct comparisons that can be drawn here. From the available evidence, the teachers in this current study appear to have lower than expected self-efficacy levels in comparison to counterparts working in culturally familiar settings. This echoes the findings of Klassen, Bong, et al. (2009) and Klassen, Foster, et al. (2009) who found that ‘isolated’ teachers had lower self-efficacy beliefs. This isolation referred to a geographical setting, however the participants in that study were also of a different cultural background to their students, which the authors identified as an often-overlooked influence. This leads to several possible conclusions regarding the foreign teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy beliefs and cultural adjustment in this context. 5.1. The teaching environment One possible reason for the lower mean self-efficacy scores could be related to the teaching environment itself. The classrooms in Abu Dhabi are culturally diverse, bringing a range of different language abilities and cultural expectations. According to Flores et al. ‘‘while teachers may have a positive teaching efficacy about teaching in a particular content area, they may not have similar efficacy beliefs about teaching that content to diverse learners’’ (2010, p. 141). The low mean scores shown here may reflect this assertion. It is possible that it is not the science content, but the classroom context that is influencing teachers’ confidence. The mix of student nationalities and language abilities within a classroom could be one influence on participants’ selfefficacy. The closest comparable study which supports this notion is that of Desouza et al. (2004), who described classrooms characterized by multilingual students and teachers who teach all core curriculum areas, not just science. Other studies in the UAE have found that English language proficiency, in both teachers and students, was a challenge and a potential barrier to effective science instruction (McKinnon et al., 2013). This was not explicitly examined here, making this conjecture rather than conclusion, however we recommend further examination of this in future studies. Many of the students in Abu Dhabi’s schools are from developed countries, and the UAE itself is a rapidly developing country. Thus, there would be a mix of interest levels and prior experience with science in each classroom. Sjøberg and Schreiner (2010) assert that student disinterest in science could be ‘‘context dependent – and growing with level of development’’ (p. 19). Therefore, those students from developed countries may be less interested in science than those from developing countries where science is a means for economic development (Bøe, Henriksen, Lyons, & Schreiner, 2011). This could negatively influence a teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy as they try to meet the diverse needs of students in their class from both pedagogical and cultural perspectives. 5.2. Number of years of science teaching experience The findings of our study seem to reflect the findings of Desouza et al. (2004), as those with between one and three years of experience had the highest PSTE, followed by those with more than 20 years. Those teachers with less than one year of experience had the lowest PSTE, however, they had the highest mean STOE score. This is similar to the findings of Shahid and Thompson (2001, April) who found that outcome expectancy decreases when personal self-efficacy increases. McKinnon and Lamberts (2014) show similar results, with a decrease in PSTE coupled with an increase in STOE. One potential argument for this is that outcome expectancies may lag behind, and be causally preceded by personal efficacies (Bandura, 1997; Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy, & Hoy, 1998), and the two scales may not be observable in correlation (Lakshmanan, Heath, Perlmutter, & Elder, 2011). There are a range of studies that have examined the relationship between teaching experience and self-efficacy, which have not produced a clear understanding of how these two variables are related to each other (Karimvand, 2011). This study has not identified a clear relationship either, but has possibly identified avenues that warrant further investigation in order to better understand influences on efficacy beliefs. 5.3. Science background In the UAE primary school teachers are not subject experts as they teach other core subjects and are mainly homeroom teachers. Looking at the demographics of the participants in this study, the majority had between four and six years of teaching experience within a curriculum structure that requires generalist knowledge across core subjects. Even those brought into public schools specifically to teach science are not necessarily science specialists; 35% of public school respondents do not have any science background. Those participants with less than ten years of experience generally had more science education than their more experienced colleagues; likely a reflection of the changing nature of teacher

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preparation programmes. Irrespective, the extra science background was not a significant influence on science teaching selfefficacy. 5.4. Implications for teacher education and professional development Increasing self-efficacy of individuals to adapt to culturally foreign settings has been recommended as a means of improving the effectiveness of international recruitment, and of induction programmes in non-educational settings (Harrison et al., 1996; Rehg et al., 2012); the same would appear true for supply teachers. This is supported by Klassen, Bong, et al. (2009) who concluded that teachers with higher levels of self-efficacy ‘‘experience greater job satisfaction in a wide variety of school and national settings’’ (p. 75). Cultural training has been shown to positively affect self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1997). Offering an induction programme for foreign recruited teachers could have multiple benefits. de Villiers (2007) echoes this assertion, arguing that a comprehensive induction programme would ‘‘lead to greater productivity in schools’’ (p. 73). For many supply teachers, the new cultural experiences are some of the most rewarding aspects of their job (McNamara et al., 2004). Therefore, it could be argued that incorporating the new cultural aspects into initial induction and professional development programmes would help provide the necessary context, and be a positive experience for the foreign teacher. Training should link science content to the local culture in ways that can motivate teachers to adapt their teaching to be more culturally responsive. Induction and professional development programmes which allow culturally foreign teachers to see and experience methods that successfully engage their students to help them see ‘‘the reality not the idealized version’’ (Cruickshank, 2004, p. 132) are recommended. This study shows that self-efficacy of culturally foreign teachers is lower than comparable international means for those teaching in familiar contexts, which may be explained partly by a culturally, linguistically, academically, and socioeconomically diverse teaching environment. This is true for teachers in both private and public schools which include large numbers of children of expatriate workers. Culturally appropriate teaching needs to be coupled with flexible teaching practices and behaviours that seek to reach each child (Ginsberg, 2005). Therefore, how supply teachers may be better equipped to confront this diversity must be addressed through training in cultural responsiveness and differentiated instruction. Differentiation is traditionally associated with inclusion of special needs children. However, a more progressive paradigm for what it means to differentiate in a classroom involves a consideration of all areas of diversity that may impact the teaching and learning process (Santamaria, 2009). Relatedly, a mentoring programme is one means of maximizing the positive impacts of an induction plan (Cooper & Alvarado, 2006). The use of mentors is commonly suggested as a means of support and development for both beginning (Luft, 2007; So & Watkins, 2005; Watson, Steele, Vozzo, & Aubusson, 2007) and experienced teachers (Penlington, 2008). The effectiveness of such mentoring programmes with culturally foreign teachers is one worthy of further exploration. 5.5. Limitations The sample size of teachers from public schools used was lower than desired, which limited the analytical strength of this study. The data presented is quantitative, which is inherently used to compare groups – in this case, private school and public school teachers. This does mean that data is lost at the individual level (Sjøberg & Schreiner, 2005). However, this paper was intended as an exploratory case study to provide a snapshot of prevailing science teaching self-efficacy beliefs of supply teachers working in Abu Dhabi. By identifying some common trends, this paper aims to serve as a starting point to develop procedures and practices that maximize successful retention of foreign recruited staff, and to potentially identify areas requiring professional support and development. The use of science gave this case study a narrow focus for overall claims of cultural adaptability and self-efficacy. Other studies using different subject areas as a lens, or more general measures of efficacy, may yield different results. 5.5.1. Limitations of the STEBI A Although the STEBI has received considerable support as an appropriate tool to measure self-efficacy (Bleicher, 2004; Lumpe, Haney, & Czerniak, 2000; Palmer, 2006; Scharmann & Orth Hampton, 1995), it has also received many criticisms, particularly pertaining to the outcome expectancy scale, some of whom choose to omit it from their analysis entirely (Palmer, 2011). The nature of outcome expectancy beliefs is that they can sometimes be externally controlled by factors beyond individual ability alone (Dellinger et al., 2008), which does limit the usefulness of results in predicting behaviours. Previous research has identified the influence of external factors on science teaching beliefs and subsequent behaviour (McKinnon and Lamberts, 2014), and we argue that it is largely external factors that will be the influence here. The STOE results are presented in this study to provide a completeness of picture. Other researchers have criticized the ambiguous language used in the STEBI, arguing that it is difficult to ascertain precisely what teachers’ responses mean in response to questions on the survey (Wheatley, 2005), or if indeed teachers are responding based on imaginary students (Matusov & Smith, 2000) accessing general self-efficacy beliefs rather than specific teaching beliefs. Finally, others have criticized the scale used in the STEBI, arguing that the five point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree does not represent a continuous range, with the middle response of ‘uncertain’ not being a conceptually accurate midpoint between agree and disagree (van Aalderen-Smeets et al., 2012).

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We acknowledge the shortcomings of the STEBI, but also refer to the earlier sections of this paper where we outlined the importance of measuring context specific efficacy beliefs. The STEBI has been widely used and validated (Desouza et al., 2004; Henson, Kogan, & Vacha-Haase, 2001), particularly in countries where the majority of participants in the current study originate, and is specific to science teaching. For this reason, we argue that it is the best available instrument to use in this study, so long as results are interpreted cognisant of the limitations described. 5.6. Recommendations for further research The results presented here warrant further exploration in larger studies, not just in the UAE but in any countries or schools that rely on supply teachers. We recommend longitudinal study following teachers newly arrived into the country and into their first years teaching in their new environment. Such study would allow school administrators to track the influences on newly arrived teachers’ acculturation, satisfaction and performance, and identify the most effective induction process for new staff. Efficacy expectations typically chronologically precede outcome expectancies (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998), so gaining an understanding of how these beliefs develop and change over time requires a longer study, particularly if the effectiveness of any professional development related activity is being measured (Lakshmanan et al., 2011). Studies that compare teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in their home country, prior to their expat experience, may be compared with their beliefs once they begin teaching in the culturally foreign context to test whether teacher self-efficacy changes based on environment. We echo previous authors’ calls for work which examines self-efficacy and general human functioning in diverse settings (Klassen, Bong, et al., 2009; Klassen, Foster, et al., 2009; Pajares, 2007), particularly teaching in different cultural contexts which has largely been ignored. 6. Conclusions The predominant findings from this study show that the teachers, irrespective of whether they work in public or private schools, do not appear to have strongly positive self-efficacy beliefs about their science teaching, particularly in comparison to other studies. This could be due to the inherent challenges associated with the nature of teaching in Abu Dhabi – that of a very culturally diverse population – which is reflected in its schools. Teachers not only need to meet and understand the diverse learning needs of this population but also must navigate the diverse cultural attitudes and practices towards education. 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