Writing Self-Efficacy

By
Esmeralda Vidovich

LBS 355-02
Paper #2-Draft #3
5 Pages
October 19, 2016

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1
Impact on Teachers Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy beliefs are based on ones abilities to successfully achieve a goal. In other
words, strong self-efficacy is when an individual believes in ones ability and capacity to perform
well in a certain situation or task. Self-efficacy tends to reflect ones confidence and
performance. As a teacher, the best way to improve writing self-efficacy for students is to have a
high writing self-efficacy before teaching them. Teaching writing has an effect on the students
performance depending on the way the teachers think about themselves as writers. I will briefly
summarize an article by Lavelle (2006), describing research about teachers writing self-efficacy,
provide a response that shows my understating of the research and a connection to my own
writing self-efficacy, and in turn, the effect my writing self-efficacy can have on effectively
teaching writing to my students.
The article (Lavelle, 2006) discusses not only how teaching efficacy is important, but
also, to know about teachers efficacy beliefs for successfully engaging and negotiating
professional and academic tasks that are related to instruction (Lavelle,2006). The research is
based on a study to evaluate the relationship between teachers writing self-efficacy and their
writing performance. The teachers writing was analyzed based on a holistic rubric, Lavelles
(2006) Low Self-Efficacy Scale Score, and a deep and surface rubric. The results of the research
prove the importance and connection between ones own writing self-efficacy and writing
performance or quality.
Based on the results of the research (Lavelle, 2006), the strength of the article is that I
agree with the research. When someone does not feel confident with a certain subject, more than
likely, they will not teach the subject with the same enthusiasm as they would with their
strongest subject. Teaching ineffectively will become a problem for the teachers teaching

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experience and more importantly, the students education. A weakness of the article (Lavelle,
2006) is how Lavelles (2006) Low Self-Efficacy Scale measures adults regarding writing
competence. The scale can be difficult to understand because receiving a high score describes the
writing performance as a difficult task, and a low score describes the writing as an easier task
(Lavelle, 2006). Despite the weakness of the article, the idea of creating a strong self-efficacy
should be a desire for all teachers.
Growing up as an English language learner, I felt behind and struggled in Language Arts.
Learning a concept was difficult especially when the class had already understood it and the
teacher moved on. In grade school, I felt ashamed when we peer-edited each others papers. No
matter how much time I put into a writing assignment, there were always students who wrote
100 times better than I did. My writing self-efficacy was low, but thanks to my self-motivation, I
challenged myself to join honor classes in high school. After encountering effective teachers, the
way I felt about my writing changed. Lavelle (2006) studied how Bereiter and Scardamalia
referred to childrens writing as bed-to-bed writing, meaning that students report what happens
without going into much detail. Although my writing self-efficacy changed, when I look back at
my papers when I started college, I noticed I was still dealing with bed-to-bed writing. In my
four years as an undergrad, I learned a lot through my Liberal Studies courses, and now, I am
happy with where I am in my writing and I feel confident to teach writing, especially to students
who are struggling as English language learners.
After reading the article (Lavelle, 2006) and analyzing my own writing, I feel
responsible, as a future educator, to continue building high self-efficacy in all subjects. I want to
be an effective teacher who helps children believe they can succeed. Providing and teaching with
enthusiasm helps students become engaged and eager to learn. I will convey a positive,

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approachable, and knowledgeable example to the students by continuing learning and developing
professionally. When I become a teacher, I will do everything in my power to give the best
education to my students.

References

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Lavelle, E. (2006). Teachers Self-Efficacy for writing. Electronic Journal of Research in
Educational Psychology, 4(1), 73-84.