Psychometric Properties of the German Student-Specific Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (SS-TSES-G)

Abstract

Based on previous research, it can be assumed that teachers' self-efficacy (TSE) varies across situations, domains and individual students' behaviors confronting teachers with particularly challenging tasks. The construct of student-specific TSE is considered informative theoretical basis for understanding the relationship between affective-motivational components of teachers' competencies and individual student behaviour. The aim of the present study was to translate and validate the Student-Specific Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (SS-TSES; Zee and Koomen, 2015) for use in German teacher samples. The items of the original SS-TSES were translated from Dutch to German using a forward-backward translation procedure. A total of 477 teachers completed the SS-TSES-G. After a randomly drawn sample-split an EFA was conducted on half of the sample, while a CFA was performed on the other half. The results of EFA and CFA revealed that a 4-factor bifactor model fitted the data best. Except for item 18, which was assigned to the first factor (emotional support), the item-factor assignments were consistent with the original structure. The goodness-of-fit statistics indicated a good model fit. The SS-TSES-G demonstrated good to excellent psychometric properties, allowing for reliable measurements of teachers' self-efficacy in relation to individual students in a German teacher population.