Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Secondary Teachers' Self-Efficacy in Reading Instruction (STERI) Across the Content Areas

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale to measure Secondary Teachers Sense of Efficacy for Reading Instruction (STERI) across the content areas. The study began by examining the adolescent literacy and teacher self-efficacy literature. Following social cognitive theory and Bandura’s (1977) conception of self-efficacy, items were written around three hypothesized factors that encompassed adolescent literacy instruction. The three hypothesized factors were: Self-Efficacy for Using Content-Area Reading Strategy Instruction, Self-Efficacy for Motivating Students to Read, and Self-Efficacy for Teaching Struggling Readers.