Date
12-4-2025
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Laura Mansfield
Keywords
general education, inclusion, private Christian school, special education, special needs, teacher self-efficacy
Disciplines
Special Education and Teaching
Recommended Citation
Swofford, Joanna, "A Causal-Comparative Study of Teacher Efficacy Among Private Christian School Elementary Teachers Reporting to Principals with Various Degrees" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7732.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7732
Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to examine the association between the earned degree (special education, general education, or other program of study) of elementary principals, and the self-efficacy of the teachers who report to them, in private, Christian schools that enroll students requiring special education. This study is important in furthering an understanding of what types of principal training lead to increased levels of teacher efficacy in meeting students’ needs within inclusive school settings. The sample of 62 participants was drawn from a population of approximately 1200 teachers from 138 private Christian schools within 11 southeastern states of the United States. Teacher self-efficacy levels were collected with the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale via an electronic survey. The results of the one-way analysis of variance did not find a significant difference in teacher self-efficacy among the three principal degree groups. However, results of the post-hoc Tukey test indicated that teachers reporting to principals with general education degrees had the highest level of self- efficacy across the three groups. This research furthers the conversation within the literature regarding the impact that principal training has on teacher self-efficacy in the schools they lead and warrants continued research examining principal training programs as they relate to inclusive schools. Recommendations for further research include a similar study in a different region of the United States with more fully defined components of training credentials of principals, studies examining the possible association between self-efficacy of Christian school teachers in inclusive schools and the professional development provided by their principals, and research comparing teacher self-efficacy in public inclusive schools to private inclusive schools.
