Preservice teachers' self-efficacy of adaptive teaching in heterogeneous classrooms

Previous research suggests that self-efficacy is particularly important for being open to change and dealing with challenges (e.g. Klassen and Tze 2014), for example the challenge of teaching in heterogeneous classrooms. However, there is lack of German instruments assessing the specific requirements of adaptive teaching in heterogeneous classrooms with a focus on teachers' self-efficacy in the diagnosis of students' understanding and differentiating instruction (Parsons et al. 2018), rather than teachers' recognition of specific disabilities or inclusive practices in general. The present study reports results on an instrument of self-efficacy beliefs in regards to adaptive teaching in heterogeneous classrooms which was piloted and administered to two samples of preservice teachers for cross-validation (N-total & x202f;= 977). Confirmatory factor analyses confirm the reliability and validity of the instrument with three factors. Moreover, the study reveals differences between preservice teachers studying for different tracks and gains in preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as a result of attending specific university courses. This indicates that the instrument is sensitive to instruction, pointing to the importance of teacher education for developing positive self-efficacy beliefs.