Abstract

Teaching efficacy beliefs influence how teachers think about teaching, how they motivate themselves, and how they behave in their classrooms. Science teaching efficacy belief has two dimensions: personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs. In this context, it is aimed to examine preservice science teachers' personal science teaching efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs. The cross-sectional survey model, one of the descriptive research designs, was used in the present study. The participants were randomly selected from preservice teachers studying at education faculties in the central Anatolian region and who had taken at least one science course during their undergraduate education. Personal information form and science teaching efficacy belief scale were used to obtain the data. The effects of independent variables (department, gender, and grade level) on preservice teachers' personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs were examined individually and together, employing a two-way MANOVA test. The teachers' personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs differed based on their department. Regarding the grade levels, preservice teachers' outcome expectancy beliefs differed in favor of the senior preservice teachers. However, there were no significant differences in personal science teaching efficacy beliefs. The number of courses related to natural sciences and science teaching should be increased to support preservice teachers' science teaching efficacy beliefs. A greater emphasis on the amount of content knowledge and professional experience in teacher education programs might improve the quality of science education.