The Meaning, Effects, and Development of Collective Efficacy in Diverse Urban Schools

Roger Goddard

The purpose of this project is to continue a systematic line of inquiry into the meaning, effects, and development of collective efficacy in schools. The project will take advantage of data collected from two large urban school districts to investigate several pressing questions about the meaning of collective efficacy, its effect on student achievement, its benefit to poor and minority students, and whether teacher empowerment might be a means to develop collective efficacy. The project takes a mixed methods approach, employing both hierarchical linear modeling and qualitative teacher interviews, to learn more about collective efficacy. Notably, this study of collective efficacy is poised to make several new theoretical and practical contributions. If collective efficacy is related to student achievement and its equitable distribution, that is even more reason for efforts to develop it. In addition, because the estimates of these effects will be drawn from observations of K-12 students and faculties in challenged urban settings, the results will be of considerable import for the great number of similar schools serving disadvantaged children. Moreover, this study is designed to offer a rich analysis of teacher interviews that can shed additional light on the causes, effects, and meaning of collective efficacy in schools. Finally, little is known about organizational practices that can develop collective efficacy in schools. The study of the relationship between teacher empowerment and collective efficacy may offer practical knowledge about how schools can be reorganized to strengthen collective efficacy. In sum, this study is designed to provide new and relevant knowledge to scholars and practitioners alike who are interested in collective efficacy, social cognitive theory, and approaches to school improvement.

About Roger Goddard

Dr. Goddard is an assistant professor of educational administration and policy at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the application of social psychology to understanding how school organizations affect teachers and students. Currently, he is studying the meaning, measure, and student achievement effects of collective efficacy. He has also written about teacher efficacy, social capital and academic emphasis. His work is published in the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of Educational Psychology, Educational and Psychological Measurement, the Elementary School Journal and Teaching and Teacher Education.