Impact of Middle Grades' Organization on Teacher Efficacy and Environmental Perceptions

Middle grades' organizational patterns and their impact on teachers' efficacy and perceptions of their working environment were examined. The participants were 82 8th-grade teachers who were surveyed about their teaching efficacy and perceptions of their working environment. Instruments used were the Teacher Efficacy Scale and the Teacher Opinion Questionnaire. Results of the study showed that teachers on interdisciplinary teams with common planning time had significantly higher perceptions of personal teacher efficacy and more positive perceptions of their working environment than did teachers on interdisciplinary teams without common planning time or teachers who were organized departmentally. The findings failed to support a difference in general teacher efficacy among the organizational patterns.