Relations between Teacher Self-Efficacy, Classroom Social Climate, and Reading Comprehension in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

Abstract

This thesis examines relations between teacher self-efficacy, classroom social climate, and reading comprehension within culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms (CLD) over the early elementary years. Guided by the job demands-resource and self-determination theories and applying a novel measure of CLD based on linguistic distances, this thesis is multimethod in its design and consists of one systematic review and two quantitative studies. Data was gathered from 19 articles and 2880 students within 150 classrooms as part of the larger project Two Teachers as students completed the first, second, and third grades (June 2017, 2018, 2019). Data was analyzed using thematic summary, multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM), and longitudinal autoregressive cross-lagged panel modeling. Results show teacher self-efficacy within CLD classrooms is supported when job resources are high and teachers possess unique personal characteristics, such as positive attitudes towards diversity and experience in classrooms of high CLD proportion. Meanwhile, teacher self-efficacy in maintaining discipline within CLD classrooms appears most influenced by teachers’ years of experience and unaffected by CLD composition. Teacher self-efficacy within CLD classrooms was found to be an important determinant of work outcomes and instructional quality in CLD classrooms. Moreover, teacher self-efficacy in maintaining discipline at the end of first grade significantly predicted students’ reading comprehension in CLD classrooms one year later. Teacher self-efficacy and students’ shared perception of the classroom social climate were not found to positively reinforce one another across time. Rather, class CLD was found to negatively influence students’ shared perception of the classroom social climate at the end of first grade with lasting effects. Classroom social climate showed to be a strongly stable construct over the early elementary years. Classroom social climate did not appear to affect students’ reading comprehension. Rather, class SES remained the most significant predictor of reading comprehension, having controlled for students’ individual CLD status, gender, and SES. The findings of this thesis reveal the importance of supporting teachers' self-efficacy in specific domains to enhance educational outcomes, particularly in teaching in multicultural classrooms and maintaining discipline. This thesis also reveals the significance of teacher self-efficacy in maintaining discipline on students’ early reading comprehension. Additionally, findings reveal a crucial need to take extra care in fostering a positive classroom social climate in CLD classrooms at the onset of elementary school. This thesis significantly contributes to the field of educational research by underscoring the significance of the dimensionality of teacher self-efficacy as a construct and emphasizing the significance of teacher self-efficacy in CLD classrooms. Furthermore, it extends our understanding of the relationship between class CLD and peer relations as a dimension of classroom social climate, explores the use of linguistic distances as a more precise operationalization of CLD, and identifies important areas for future research.