Date
4-2018
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Chair
Jessica Talada
Keywords
Self-efficacy, Sense of Community, Sense of Community in School Scale, Special Education, Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale
Disciplines
Education | Special Education and Teaching
Recommended Citation
Sinkonis, Laura, "The Relationship Between Perceived Sense of Community and Self-Efficacy in Special Education Teachers: A Quantitative Correlational Study" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 1685.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/1685
Abstract
Teacher attrition is a worldwide problem. Teachers leave education for reasons other than retirement, and many retire before the generally accepted retirement age of 65. Further, special education teachers are at an even higher risk of premature exit than their general education counterparts. Self-efficacy is related to teacher burnout and other reasons for leaving the profession. One missing piece in the literature is role of sense of community in special education on teachers’ self-efficacy. The purpose of this correlational study is to investigate possible predictive relationships between sense of community and self-efficacy in special education teachers. Further, relationships between group identity and self-efficacy and shared domain and self-efficacy were studied. Two hundred special education teachers from a Mid-Atlantic state were surveyed using the Sense of Community in School Scale and the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale. Pearson’s r was used to identify the correlations. The results of the study indicated a small to moderate positive relationship between sense of community and self-efficacy.
