Assessment of Science Teachers’ Vocabulary Strategies with English Language Learners and Self-Efficacy Levels

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine science teachers’ self-efficacy with teaching science and their self-efficacy level for teaching ELL students while also examining the types of vocabulary instructional strategies used in the classroom. The study consisted of an electronic on-line survey to measure self-efficacy levels of teaching science and self-efficacy levels of teach science to English Language Learners (ELL). The survey was disseminated to secondary science teachers in a southeastern region of the United States. Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory provided a conceptual framework for examining the constructs of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. He defined self-efficacy as a construct that is situation-specific. Statistical analysis included calculating Cronbach alphas to measure internal consistency among items, one-way ANOVAs, a Pearson correlation, and frequencies of types of instructional strategies. One-way ANOVAs were calculated to determine if any statistical significance existed for gender, grade level taught, ethnicity, highest degree earned on self-efficacy levels. Only one variable had statistical significance on self-efficacy. Results for the study suggest that if teacher participants had a high self-efficacy of teaching science, they also had a high self-efficacy to teach ELL students. Implications from the research include offering professional development for working with ELL students and providing teacher candidate’s opportunities and coursework to prepare for diverse classroom settings.