My notes on Collective Teacher Efficacy

This is an overview of my research and thinking around Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE).

CTE refers to “the perceptions of teachers in a school that the faculty as a whole can execute the courses of  action necessary to have positive effects on students” ^a. It was identified by Professor John Hattie as having a very high effect size of 1.57 ^b. CTE is of interest to school leaders because it is an indicator of the willingness by teacher “to invest the time and  energy required to attain educational goals and results in greater effort.” CTE is a broad and systemic intervention which leads to “improved student outcomes” ^c. Jenni Donohoo identifies the following six enabling conditions for fostering collective teacher efficacy:

1. Advanced teacher influence is defined by the degree to which teachers are provided opportunities to participate in important school-wide decisions.
2. Goal Consensus: Reaching consensus on goals not only increases collective efficacy. It also  has a direct and measurable impact on student achievement.
3. Teachers’ Knowledge About One Another’s Work: Teachers gain confidence in their peers’  ability to impact student learning when they have more intimate knowledge about each  other’s practice.
4. Cohesive Staff: Cohesion is defined as the degree to which teachers agree with each other  on fundamental educational issues.
5. Responsiveness of Leadership: Responsive leaders show concern and respect for their  staff and protect teachers from issues that detract from their teaching time and focus.
6. Effective Systems of Intervention: Effective systems of intervention help in ensuring that  all students are successful. ^d

Image source Donohoo, Oleary, Hattie 2020, Conceptual framework: Leader for Collective Efficacy. ^e

For me, CTE functions like an umbrella for many elements of ‘school improvement’. If a school gets CTE right, the rest will follow. It would be impossible to attribute a specific element of CTE as the key factor that impacts student outcomes because CTE is a whole-system approach to school improvement.

Some good videos, articles and resources (thank you Tim O’Leary):

• John Hattie – Collective Teacher Efficacy (2018) (Video)
• Jenni Donohoo – Fostering Collective Teacher Efficacy (2018) (Video)
• Donohoo, Dewitt, Tshcannen-Moran Demystifying Collective Efficacy (2021) (Video)
• Jenni Donohoo – Collective Efficacy Podcast (2021) (Podcast)
• When Teachers believe, students achieve, Donohoo, (2017 (article)
• The role of Collective Efficacy in closing student achievement gaps, Goddard,  (article)
• Self-determination theory, social capital, collective teacher efficacy & teacher agency: cultural considerations for school change, OLeary (article)

1. Goddard, R. (2001). Collective efficacy: A neglected construct in the study of schools and student
   achievement. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 93(3), 467-476. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-
   0663.93.3.467  (back)
2. Hattie, J. (2016). Third Visible Learning Annual Conference: Mindframes and Maximizers,
   Washington, DC, July 11, 2016  (back)
3. Donohoo, J., O’Leary, T., & Hattie, J. (2020). The design and validation of the enabling conditions for collective teacher efficacy scale (EC-CTES). Journal of Professional Capital And Community, 5(2), 147-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpcc-08-2019-0020  (back)
4. Donohoo, J. (2017). Collective efficacy: How educators’ beliefs impact student learning. Corwin Press.  (back)
5. Donohoo, J., O’Leary, T., & Hattie, J. (2020). The design and validation of the enabling conditions for collective teacher efficacy scale (EC-CTES). Journal of Professional Capital And Community, 5(2), 147-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpcc-08-2019-0020  (back)