The purpose of this study is to examine whether the children's academic efficacy is influenced by how they perceive support from their local children's center in terms of education and autonomy and how much their teachers perceive themselves efficient...
The purpose of this study is to examine whether the children's academic efficacy is influenced by how they perceive support from their local children's center in terms of education and autonomy and how much their teachers perceive themselves efficient as a teacher. The specific research topics are follows.
First, what is the relationship between the teaching efficacy of the local children's center teachers and the academic efficacy of children?
Second, what are the relations of perceived educational support, autonomy support of the local children's centers and to children's academic efficacy?
Third, are the children's academic efficacies different according to the perceived educational support of local chidren's centers?
Fourth, are the children's academic efficacies different according to the perceived autonomy support of teachers at local children's centers?
Fifth, are the children's academic self-efficacies different according to the teaching self-efficacy of local chidren's center teachers?
For this study, a survey was conducted to 270 children aged 11 to 13 and 53 teachers attending local children's centers located in Jeonju, Gunsan, Jeongeup, Jinan, and Muju-gun, Jeollabuk-do. The scales used for the study are as follows.
To measure perceived educational support from local children's centers, a questionnaire on the programs was made by revising the one used by Jeong Seon-jin(2009), and another scale on the physical environment was developed based on the one used by Choi Yoon-mi (2010). To measure perceived autonomy support of local children's centers, a questionnaire was developed by moddifying the ones used by Williams, Freeman and Deci (1996), Kim Eun-young(2014), Jeon Soo-Jin(2018) and Jang(2009).
To measure teaching self-efficacy. a questionnaire was develpped by revising the STEBI(Enochs & Riggs, 1990). For the measurement tool for children's academic efficacy used was a revised version of the sclale developed by Kim A-young (2002), based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy.
The results are as follows.
First, the correlation between the teaching self-efficacy of the local children's center teachers and the academic self-efficacy of children was not statistically significant. However, some positive correlations were found by the subscale level. Teachers' teaching efficacy had a positive correlation with task difficulty, a sub-variable of children's academic self-efficacy, And learning guidance self-efficacy, also showed a positive correlation with children's academic self-efficacy. In addition learning guidance, was found to have a positive correlation with task difficulty.
Second, perceived educational support and autonomy support were positively related tlo children's academic self-efficacy.
Third, children's academic self-efficacies were different between upper and lower groups in terms of perceived educational support.
Among academic self-efficacy sub-variables task difficulty and self-regulation made differences between the upper and lower groups.
Fourth, children's academic self-efficacies were different accordy to the perceived autonomy support of teachers at local children's centers. The children in the upper group in terms of autonomy support showed higher scores of task difficulty and self-regulation.
Fifth, no significant difference was found in children's academic efficacy between the children with higher teaching self-efficacy teachers and those with lower teaching self-efficacy teachers.
Taken together, it can be safely said that perceived educational support, autonomy support, and teaching efficacy of teachers at local children's centers play an important role for children's academic self-efficacy. In particular, educational support had a relatively higher relation. This result suggests that educational support must be increased to enhance children's academic self-efficacy.