Exploring Gender Differences in Sense of Efficacy of Secondary School Teachers: A Comparative Study

Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s own confidence in their ability to perform the tasks required to achieve specific performance in the institution. The purpose of the present study is, to explore the gender differences in Sense of Efficacy between the male and female teachers of secondary schools in the Purulia district. The present study was carried out through the Descriptive Survey Method by administering Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) on a random sample of 602 school teachers (male – 406 and female – 196) of Purulia district. The results of the study revealed that gender differences exist in teachers’ Self-efficacy and observed that the female teachers expressed their (statistically) significantly higher Sense of Efficacy in the subscales of Student Engagement and Classroom Management and also in Sense of Efficacy (in Totality) than their male counterparts. It is concluded that, female teachers may have more confident in their ability to effectively manage their classrooms, more engage to the students and better instructional strategies than their male counterparts.