Teacher efficacy research in sub‐Saharan Africa: A systematic review

Abstract Teacher efficacy has been broadly studied in the Global North contexts. A systematic review was conducted in order to gain insights into the research trends of the construct in the sub‐Saharan Africa region. PubMed, Dimensions, Scopus and ProQuest were the main databases used for the search of relevant studies published from 2010 to 2024. Inter‐coder reliability was performed to ensure the credibility of the selected articles. In total, 12 articles met the set eligibility criteria for the review. The findings indicate that teacher efficacy‐related studies were mainly concentrated in two sub‐Saharan African countries, compared with other nations. My systematic review provides evidence of growing enthusiasm in teacher efficacy research in these nations over time. It was also revealed that the conceptualization of teacher efficacy was limited in scope, with scholarly attention being unevenly distributed across academic fields. This article argues that greater use of African theoretical frameworks and engaging African epistemologies would help balance the reliance on Global North literature. Furthermore, positioning teacher efficacy at the centre of initiatives developed to enhance teaching professionalism could significantly stimulate increased research on the topic. Context and implications Rationale for this study: Education systems in many sub‐Saharan African regions increasingly prioritize on developing teachers’ ability to teach across diverse school contexts. However, strategies to enhance teacher efficacy have received little attention. Since teacher efficacy is a measurable construct, this systematic review yields a holistic overview of the degree to which the topic has been explored. Why new findings matter: Findings inform policy‐makers around developing mechanisms geared towards understanding the influence of teacher efficacy on classroom teaching practices. Implications for policy‐makers and researchers: Arguably, if governments in the sub‐Saharan Africa region are made aware of teacher efficacy and its related factors, they can not only devise interventions that produce more confident teachers but also create opportunities for further scholarly exploration of the topic or phenomenon. Incorporating teacher efficacy into in‐service training programmes will enhance a better conceptualization of the construct in African settings. In other words, my systematic review also adds to the existing body of literature on the state of teacher efficacy in the region