The effective music teacher: a model for predicting music teacher's self-efficacy

Effective music teachers have several skills that influence the learning processes of their students. Music teachers’ effectiveness is a multidimensional construct that includes professional and personal features; it is a complex phenomenon characterized by several hidden variables that contribute in an interrelated way. Variables like professional self-efficacy could be good indicators of teachers’ effectiveness and are used to analyze professional and personal factors. The aim of this study is to examine music teachers’ professional self-efficacy and to define a predictive model based on their psychological and professional attitudes. Participants were 335 music teachers from several European countries who completed a set of questionnaires that included measures for professional self-efficacy, professional motivation, professional satisfaction, resilience, coping strategies, and self-esteem. A regression analysis was used to define a predictive model of professional self-efficacy. The results show that professional self-efficacy was positively predicted by professional satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and regulation attitudes toward teaching activity, perceived resilience, coping strategies based on planning solutions, and self-esteem. Conversely, coping strategies based on passive acceptance of critical situations had a negative impact on music teachers’ professional self-efficacy. The educational implications of these findings are discussed.