“If She Can Do It, So Can I”: Self-Efficacy of University Professors Who Co-Teach

Background/purpose. Co-teaching has emerged as an innovative practice in Higher Education that offers positive experiences for both students and professors. The current study focused on professors who were involved in co-teaching practices and aimed to explore the effects of these partnerships on their teacher self-efficacy (TSE).

Materials/methods. Participating professors wrote reflective diaries and were interviewed at the end of their experiences. The resulting data was analyzed for mentions of TSE and categorized according to Bandura’s (1997) information sources that allow for a judgment of self-efficacy.

Results. Co-teaching practices have been found to positively affect TSE, most often informed by enactive mastery experiences, probably due to the reflective nature of the experience. The second most common source of TSE was vicarious experiences. Evidence of negative effects of co-teaching on TSE was also found, mainly in first-time co-teachers, and often related to the use of ICT during the pandemic.

Conclusion. The study concludes that co-teaching at the university level has a generally positive effect on TSE. However, a negative impact can be noted, especially in the first year of co-teaching. To capitalize on the positive effects, it is essential to stress the use of reflective dialogue between partners and the continuation of co-teaching partnerships as they tend to gain strength in time.

Keywords: Collaboration teamwork, teacher reflection, university education, self-efficacy, teacher collaboration

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