Examining the factor structure of the teachers’ sense of efficacy scale in the Vietnamese educational context

In recent years, research has focused on the factor structure of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and the significant effects of teachers’ self-efficacy on both teachers’ outcomes (teachers’ performance, enjoyment of teaching, and commitment to teach), and students’ outcomes (student learning achievements, motivation, and own sense of efficacy. However, current literature shows that very limited research on the factor structure of the TSES for teachers has been conducted in the Vietnamese educational context. Thus, this study explored the factor structure of the 12-item TSES for a group of 395 in-service teachers from 24 high schools in Vietnam. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed to explore the possible factor structure of the TSES and confirm the latent structural validity of the TSES model. The results of factorial analysis indicated that the three-factor structure of the original TSES, which included efficacy for instructional practices, efficacy for classroom management, and efficacy for student engagement, was appropriate for high school teachers in Vietnam. The reliability of each of the three sub-scales and the whole scale was satisfactory. The findings suggested that the application of TSES was suitable for Vietnamese in-service teachers to assess their self-efficacy. The study recommended that future studies should examine the factor structure of the TSES for a group of pre-service teachers in Vietnam to compare the experience levels of efficacy beliefs between pre-service and in-service teachers.