The Effect of Collective Teacher Efficacy and Expectations on Student Achievement in High-Poverty Elementary Schools in the State of Missouri

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the nature of the relationshipbetween a faculty’s collective efficacy and student achievement in communication artsand mathematics. An additional purpose of this research was to determine the nature ofthe relationship between a faculty’s collective expectations for student learning andstudent achievement in communication arts and mathematics. The sample for this studywas Missouri elementary schools with a free and reduced lunch rate of more than 70percent that participated in the Missouri School Improvement Program AdvanceQuestionnaire during the academic years of 2009-10 and 2010-11. The independentvariables of collective efficacy and collective expectations for student learning weremeasured using the Advance Questionnaire. The dependent variable of studentachievement was measured using the percentage of students scoring in the Proficient andAdvanced proficiency levels on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests in thecontent areas of communication arts and mathematics from the academic years of 2009-10 and 2010-11.Analysis revealed mixed results for the relationships existing between collectiveefficacy and student achievement in communication arts and mathematics in high-povertyelementary schools in Missouri. A positive relationship exists between collective highexpectations for student learning by faculty and student achievement in bothcommunication arts and mathematics in high-poverty elementary schools in Missouri.School administrators can use the results of this study to focus professional developmentefforts toward creating a positive impact on student achievement. Recommendations forfurther research include extending the study to include all Missouri elementary schools and examining the relationship between individual teacher efficacy scores and studentachievement. Additionally, the student responses to the Sense of Efficacy andExpectations Scale of the Advance Questionnaire could be used to determine therelationship between student self-efficacy and student achievement.