Boys can be managed: schools’ student composition and teacher efficacy, a multilevel approach

ABSTRACT

Considerable research concerning determinants of teacher efficacy focuses on teachers’ individual characteristics. School characteristics, such as the socioeconomic and gender composition of the school, are largely overlooked. The scant research including schools’ student composition suggests that teachers feel less efficacious when teaching boys with a low socioeconomic status (SES). A multilevel analysis, using data from 1247 teachers in 59 Flemish secondary schools, shows that teachers’ feelings of efficacy do not appear to differ very much between schools, although many studies assumed that the greater part of variance in teacher efficacy could be found between schools. The socioeconomic composition of the school does not affect teacher efficacy. Gender composition, however, does influence teacher efficacy, as teachers display more efficacy in classroom management and experience more general efficacy when teaching mostly boys. The unexpected finding that teachers seem to feel more efficacious in classroom management when teaching mostly boys is discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher efficacy
• socioeconomic status
• gender differences
• school composition

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Residual analyses and assumption checks can be obtained on request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lennart Van Eycken

Lennart Van Eycken is a PhD student and teaching assistant working for the research team CuDOS (Cultural Diversity: Opportunities and Socialization) at the Department of Sociology, Ghent University, Belgium. His research focuses on school compositional effects on teacher efficacy, including teacher perceptions and gender stereotypes.

Mieke Van Houtte

Mieke Van Houtte is a full professor of sociology and the head of the research team CuDOS at the Department of Sociology, Ghent University, Belgium. Her research is situated within the sociology of education, including sexual minorities and the effects of structural and compositional school features on diverse outcomes for students and teachers.