Teacher Self-Efficacy and Student Outcomes: A Transactional Approach to Prevention
Teachers who are in their first couple of years of teaching are vulnerable to leaving the profession at
considerably high rates. Teacher retention rates are related to teachers’ feelings of self-efficacy. This study
examined the effect of the universal preventive intervention, the PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG),
on teachers’ self-efficacy when delivered as professional development to practicing teachers. PAX GBG has
demonstrated an effect on numerous student proximal and distal outcomes when implemented as classroombased
prevention. However, the effects on teacher outcomes are less identified and researched as well as the
reciprocal nature of teacher and student interactions during the implementation of a PAX GBG intervention.
In this quasi-experimental design, practicing teachers reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy after
receiving training in PAX GBG suggesting the malleability of self-efficacy. The results were examined within
the framework of the transactional model and demonstrate the need to further investigate teacher and student
relationships and the related distal student outcomes as a result of increasing teacher self-efficacy.
Citation: Huber, Mary & Fruth, Jason & Avila-John, Alan & López Ramírez, Enrique. (2016). Teacher Self-Efficacy and Student Outcomes: A Transactional Approach to Prevention. Journal of Education and Human Development. 5. 10.15640/jehd.v5n1a5.