Exploring teacher efficacy and job satisfaction beliefs: A mixed methods study on language teachers at a college of technology in Oman

The main purpose of this longitudinal mixed methods study is to investigate teachers’ self-efficacy and job satisfaction beliefs in Oman, from the perspective of novice and experienced English language teachers in a college of technology. The study also investigates patterns of changes in teachers’ self-efficacy (TSE) and satisfaction (JS). Using a short-term longitudinal study, five online diary surveys were filled by 84 teachers in the course of one semester. Data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively using validated measures of teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction. This study revealed non-significant change in TSE and JS over time. Differences in TSE and JS beliefs were observed between teachers with 1 to 3 and teachers with more than 21 years of teaching experience, specifically in selecting what strategies to employ in their teaching. The qualitative findings showed that teachers with high self-efficacy had the ability to select the right instructional strategies, maintain control in the class, emphasize students’ willingness to take responsibility for their learning; were highly engaged; and ensured teacher-student relationships existed and maintained. Additionally, teachers’ satisfaction was mainly affected by their sense of achievement and workplace environment. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory suggests that self-efficacy may be malleable early in learning and, therefore, this indicates that if teacher self-efficacy is well established early on in the teaching career, a strong long-term sense of efficacy can be developed. In-service training and staff development programs can be the solution to strengthen teachers’ belief in their abilities, as the qualitative results suggested. A student engagement scale (ESS) was created in order to explore links with teachers’ self-efficacy. Data were collected from students whose teachers participated in the online diaries (n=838). The ESS was found to be reliable (α =.87). A non-significant relationship between students’ perception of their engagement and their teachers’ beliefs in engaging them was reported.