Abstract:
Teachers’ effective management of the learning situation has and continues to draw the concern of
many researchers. This is more so in response to declining standards in learner achievement within the country,
Kenya and the need to keep pace with the rest of the world. Since teachers are the primary agents in
implementing the curriculum, their personal perceptions concerning the prevailing conditions as well as their
ability to contribute in turning around the circumstances through use of innovative techniques ultimately
influence instructional strategies they adopt. Personal Teacher Efficacy is an indicator of their willingness or
otherwise to embrace a given circumstance. Though data on PTE seems to exist, much of this work has its origin
outside Africa. None exist that provides an insight on secondary education management of classroom pedagogy
in Kenya. Additionally, most of the existing data show minimal direct link between PTE and teachers’ choice of
teaching method. Further, their analysis indicates inconsistencies regarding the sources of efficacy information.
This study therefore sought to assess the influence of PTE on choice of teaching methods among secondary
school teachers in Kwale County as a contribution in furthering this line of research. Data was obtained from
121 (76 male, 45 female) practicing teachers in public secondary schools within the county using a
questionnaire comprising of items adapted from the Teachers' Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran
& Hoy, 2001) and the Mentor Support Scale (Capa & Loadman, 2004). Results showed that teacher’s
demographic characteristics of age, gender and teaching experience as well as their mastery of teaching
techniques are the main sources of teachers’ PTE. Similarly, teachers’ age, teaching experience and mastery
were found to be significant predictors of their choice of innovative instructional techniques.
