The development and validation of a scale for measuring EFL secondary teachers’ self-efficacy for English writing and writing instruction

Abstract

Although the field of second language (L2) writing has evolved into an independent field of inquiry with the exponential growth in research across contexts in the past decades, relatively less attention has been paid to teachers who write and teach writing in school instructional contexts. In particular, scant research on L2 writing teachers has investigated secondary English teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for writing and writing instruction. The present study aimed to develop and validate the Secondary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teachers’ Self-Efficacy for Writing and Writing Instruction Scale (SEFL-TSEWWIS). A sample of 984 Chinese secondary EFL teachers participated in the study. The final version of the SEFL-TSEWWIS scale was comprised of 26 items measuring three dimensions: self-efficacy for teaching and assessing writing elements; self-efficacy for writing instruction; and self-efficacy for writing. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the SEFL-TSEWWIS scale had good psychometric properties. This study highlighted that EFL teachers’ beliefs about writing assessment and feedback are crucial parts of their conception of self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching L2 writing. Theoretical and pedagogical implications of the findings are provided for English writing teachers and writing teacher educators in EFL contexts.