Low efficacy on application of collective efficacy to education

Why is it easier for people to collectively cheer for their favorite sports team, yet challenging for a group of teachers to cheer for their students?  Cheering fans of all ages gather on weekends and hold the belief -the hope- that their team will succeed. However, experienced educators often gather in teachers’ lounges, lacking the belief that their students will succeed in learning material. We could say that the Saturday fans easily share a high collective efficiency in their team’s success and Monday morning teachers share low collective efficacy in student success.  Why the difference?

After reading several of Bandura’s articles on Collective Efficacy, I have considered CE with respect to student academic efficacy, teacher instructional efficacy and teachers’ beliefs about the collective efficacy of their school. According to Bandura, (Exercise of Human Agency through Collective Efficacy),  “The higher the perceived collective efficacy, the higher the groups’ motivational     investment in their undertaking, the stronger their staying power in the face of impediments and setbacks and the greater their performance accomplishments.”

The connection between teacher collective efficacy and student outcomes appear dependent on several factors. How can school administration inspire teacher beliefs and tasks necessary to be excellent educators? How are educators encouraged?  What are small practical building blocks useful for developing efficacy in teachers?  I presume teachers’ self-evaluation of their abilities vary greatly (their confidence, innovation, resilience, perception, reflectiveness, humility, curiosity, and inclusiveness, to name a few.) Teacher efficacy influences whether teachers think optimistically or pessimistically, what course of action they choose to pursue, the goals they set for themselves and their students, the commitment to their goals and how they persevere through adversity. Shared beliefs with other teachers are vital to collective efficacy and a successful teacher.  

(The procrastination in publishing this blog post might be a display of my low efficacy on the topic of collective efficacy in education.  Although I read each of the assigned Bandura articles, I have little efficacy in making meaningful connections to students and educators.)