Relationships among experience, teacher efficacy, and attitudes toward the implementation of instructional innovation

This article reports a study undertaken to investigate the relationships among teachers experience, efficacy, and attitudes toward the implementation of instructional innovation. Data were gathered through three questionnaires administered to 25 teachers immediately following a four-day staff development program on cooperative learning. Results showed that experience was negatively correlated, personal teaching efficacy positively correlated, and general teaching efficacy not correlated with teachers' attitudes toward implementing new instructional practices. Implications for instructional improvement and future research are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.