Changing Inservice Teachers' Self-Perceptions of Their Ability to be Effective Teachers of the Arts

Abstract

The present study was based on two assumptions-first, that teacher self-confidence in personal ability to work in the arts is essential for successful teaching of the arts, and second, that teachers can gain self-confidence through successfu I creative experiences in the arts. The study sought to assess the effects of creative experiences in the arts on teachers' self-perceptions of their ability to teach the arts. Subjects for the study were twenty-two inservice teachers who were asked to give both pre- and post-test self-ratings to a number of perceptual statements regarding teaching ability in the arts. The McNemar Test for Significance of Changes was used to test the significance of the proportions of participants changing responses between the pretest and posttest.