Environmental Education Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (EETEBI)

Background

This tool was developed by Christine Moseley at The University of Texas at San Antonio, Juliana Utley, Julie Angle, and Mwarumba Mwavita at Oklahoma State University. The survey was developed through a series of steps including literature review; review by experts in the field of content, pedagogy, and language; focus group review and discussion; and administration of the survey with a larger sample of preservice teachers in the Southwest and Midwest.

Format

This survey consists of 20 statements to which people respond to on a six-point

A set of numbers or symbols used to represent characteristics of a variable in measurement (Vogt, 2005).

: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) somewhat disagree, (4) somewhat agree, (5) agree, and (6) strongly agree.

Audience

Pre-service and in-service teachers

When and how to use the tool

This survey can be used as a pre-teaching assessment of preservice and in-service teachers. Give this survey to teachers before a program begins and have the results inform program planning. Additionally, this tool could be used to measure changes in teacher EE teaching

Efficacy can be divided into self efficacy and collective efficacy. In self efficacy the focus is on the indidivuals’ belief in their ability to succeed or accomplish a task, whereas in collective efficacy, the focus is on the groups’ belief that they can succeed and accomplish a task, or that the group has the capacity to succeed (Krasny, 2020).

by also administering a posttest after a training or program. Be sure to consider if your program targets this outcome and if it is adequate length to see changes. Lastly, it can be used for a one-time measure of teacher EE efficacy. 

How to analyze

We recommend entering survey responses into a spreadsheet using a program such as Microsoft Excel. Create a spreadsheet with 20 columns for the 20 statements and a row for each participant. To ensure confidentiality, assign a matching

Unique number assigned to survey participants to allow for confidentiality and ease of data analysis. Similar to Medical Record Number used by doctors (Law Insider Inc., 2021).

to each participant and their survey, and enter survey responses across the corresponding row. Using a 1–6 point scale, enter the number that matches each response. Enter a dot if the response was skipped.

This survey consists of two subscales, which means two different sets of questions measure two slightly different constructs. One subscale measures personal environmental education teaching efficacy (PEETE), meaning it measures teachers’ “perceptions and beliefs toward their

Referring to ability diversity and a variety of abilities and disabilities. These variations include differences in cognitive, social-emotional, and physical abilities. Differences in abilities may need more individualized approaches to instruction and evaluation (PennState Extension, 2017).

to teach environmental education” (p. 394). The other subscale measures environmental education outcome expectancy (EEOE), meaning it measures teachers’ perceptions and beliefs toward their ability to “influence student understanding about the

The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates, especially as affected by human activity; its ethical, social, cultural, and economic dimensions also play a part (Environment, 2018; Tbilisi Declaration, 1977).

” (p. 394). These two constructs are to be reviewed separately as many studies have shown them to be uncorrelated, or unrelated. 

To analyze this data, you will have to find the average score for each individual for each subscale. To find the PEETE average score, add up all the responses from those questions and divide by the number of questions answered, do not include skipped questions for which you entered a dot. The average will be between 1 and 6. To find the EEOE average score, add up all the responses from those questions and divide by the number of questions answered, do not include skipped questions for which you entered a dot. The average will also be between 1 and 6. The PEETE subscale consists of thirteen

A type of question or statement used as part of a survey or interview to understand a respondents' reactions or feelings. Each item measures a particular idea (Salazar et al., 2020).

(2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20), while the EEOE subscale consists of seven items (1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 13). Mean scores are calculated on the two constructs with scores ranging from 13 to 78 on the PEETE scale and from 7 to 42 on the EEOE scale. 

Scores of 1–2 indicate a lower efficacy; scores of 3-4 indicate a medium level of efficacy; and scores of 5-6 indicate a higher level of efficacy.

When administering the pre-experience

A standardized method of collecting data that consists of questions and responses. Questions can be "open-ended", but often take the form of being "close-ended" where respondents choose from predetermined answers (Frechtling, 2010).

and post-experience surveys, you can conduct higher-level statistics on your data to understand if participants had significant changes in the outcome areas after their participation in the program. Demographic data such as gender,

A social construct that divides people into smaller groups based on characteristics such as a shared sense of group membership, values, behavioral, patterns, language, history, and ancestral geography (Racial Equity Tools, 2020).

, age, and number of years teaching can also be evaluated to compare scores across surveys.

What to do next

Once you’ve administered your survey and analyzed the data, consider the following suggestions about what to do next:

• If a baseline measurement suggests that your audience has low efficacy scores, you might want to design a program that can help increase EE efficacy. For instance, If you have educators with complimentary high efficacy results, you could have them work together to share how they feel confident teaching EE, successfully engage students, and effectively teach EE topics. Your program may encourage them to create

  The way in which individuals and groups hold themselves to goals and actions as well as the values to which they hold themselves responsible. Can be internally or externally imposed (ICMA, 2021).

  partners and work together to meet their EE teaching goals. 
• If you used this tool to measure changes in teacher efficacy, do you see a change in scores between the

  A test or measurement administered before the program or activities begin. The results of a pretest can later be compared with the results of a posttest to show evidence of the effects of the program being evaluated (Zint, n.d.).

  and

  In program evaluation, a posttest is a test or measurement administered after services or activities have ended. Posttest results are often compared with pretest results to examine the effects of the program being evaluated (Zint, n.d.).

  ? Keep in mind that you may not see a change, particularly if your program is short in duration or is not designed to influence teacher’s EE efficacy. 
• Invite program staff or other partners to look over the data. Consider questions together, like:
• What do these results tell us about our programming? Why do we think we got these results?
• What did we think we would see with respect to teacher EE efficacy? And did these data support our goals?
• If our results did not support our goals, can we brainstorm on areas within the programming or delivery to influence teacher EE efficacy? What changes should be made to programming, or how should new programs be designed?
• Who in our

  Can be geographically based (neighborhoods, towns, cities, etc.) or based on interest, identity, culture, belief, profession, etc. In environmental education community is often thought of as a system of systems including both natural, social, and economic systems (NAAEE, 2017).

  should we reach out to for collaboratively discussing program design?
• With whom or what organizations can we share our learning with?

How to see if this tool would work with your program

To assess whether the tool is appropriate for your educators, please review the items carefully and

An initial trial of a program, instrument, or other activity intended to test out procedures and discover and correct potential problems before proceeding to full scale implementation. Pilot tests can be conducted either for a program (i.e., testing out the program with a small group of participants) or for an evaluation (i.e., testing out instruments and data collection procedures with a small group of people similar to program participants). When possible, a pilot test, or trial run, is conducted with a sample group that is representative of the target population. Based on the results of the pilot test, revisions and improvements can be made before wider implementation of the program, instrument, or activity (Zint, n.d.).

the tool with a small group that represents your

A group of persons (or other subjects of study) that one wants to describe in the evaluation process (Vogt, 2005).

. To pilot test, ask a small group of willing participants who are part of your target audience to talk to you as they complete the tool. What are they thinking when they read each item? What experiences come to mind when they respond? As long as this is what you expect and you will gain relevant information from your

A systematic process that critically examines a program's merit, worth or significance by collecting and analyzing information about a program’s activities, characteristics, and outcomes. The goal is to improve the program's effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions (Patton, 2001).

, you are on the right track! If the answers are different for each person, and they should be more similar given their experiences, you may need to look at other tools. 

Tool tips

• We recommend using this survey as is, in its entirety.