Investigation of Early Childhood Teacher Self-Efficacy in Terms of Various Variables

This study aims to examine the self-efficacy levels of early childhood teachers in terms of various variables (age, marital status, department graduated, education level, professional experience). The survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the present study. Criterion sampling; one of the methods of purposive sampling is applied. 219 early childhood teachers working as early childhood teachers in different provinces of Turkey participated in the study. The data for the study was collected using the "Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale," which was adapted to Turkish by Çapa, Çakıroğlu, and Sarıkaya (2005). The construct validity of this scale was confirmed by performing a confirmatory factor analysis for early childhood teachers. The data was analyzed using the SPSS-28 statistical program. The relevant data were subjected to the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H tests. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed using the Amos program, and the results indicated that the scale had acceptable fit values. In addition, the reliability level was found to be high, with the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency reliability coefficient being .97. Based on the research results, the self-efficacy of early childhood teachers varied significantly based on age group, marital status, and professional experience. However, no significant difference was observed in the self-efficacy levels of early childhood teachers based on their education level and economic status.