The impact of community-based versus university-based training on teachers’ self-efficacy in English learner instruction

Abstract

Community-based learning has become a popular approach in teacher education because it provides direct teaching experiences with English learners (ELs) and promotes theory-to-practice connections. However, little is known about how community-based learning differs from standard seminar learning, particularly regarding the development of self-efficacy among mainstream teachers who are increasingly working with ELs but often feel underprepared. Using a sequential explanatory design, this mixed-methods study examined how the two learning approaches (community-based learning and university-based seminars) influence self-efficacy among mainstream teachers. A total of 51 mainstream teachers (22 preservice and 29 in-service) in Texas, where ELs represent over 20% of the public school student population in the United States, participated in a year-long study aimed at enhancing their ability to integrate content and language instruction for ELs. They were assigned to either a community-based learning program or university-based seminars. Responses to presurveys and postsurveys were analyzed using multivariate regression to measure changes in self-efficacy. Interview transcripts were analyzed via three-sequence causation pathway coding to identify themes reflecting the development of self-efficacy at different time points. Teachers in the community group reported significantly greater growth in self-efficacy. Different developmental trajectories for self-efficacy emerged for preservice and in-service teachers, each reflecting distinct assets and needs, as they learned about teaching ELs in the context of community-based learning. Direct teaching experiences with ELs may promote greater self-efficacy among teachers than seminar learning experiences do. Community-based learning promotes different trajectories of self-efficacy development, with preservice teachers appearing to show more receptivity than in-service teachers to new teaching strategies.