Blazing New Trails - Connexions

220 CRITICAL ISSUES IN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
To understand this motivation and behavior, the administrator’s own sense of efficacy
regarding the implementation of character education was explored. Applying Bandura’s
(1997) construct to the principalship would involve several factors including the principal’s
determination of effectiveness on the set of tasks associated with character education,
considerations of the principal’s own capabilities and experiences in character education, and
the principal’s unique work context. Social cognitive theory proposes that such factors related
to the principalship form the motivational and behavioral catalyst needed to successfully
accomplish school goals in the character education domain.
In contrast to a principal’s general efficacy beliefs, we are focusing on only the
perceived efficacy beliefs in the context of character education because self-efficacy
instruments must be context-specific as Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2004) wrote:
Self-efficacy beliefs are context-specific, however, people do not feel equally
efficacious for all situations. Principals may feel efficacious for leading in particular
contexts, but this sense of efficacy may or may not transfer to other contexts,
depending on the perceived similarities of the task. Therefore in making an efficacy
judgment, consideration of the elements of the task at hand are required. (pp. 573-574)
In the decision process of making perceived efficacy belief determinations, principals should
analyze the tasks associated with implementing a character education programming by
assessing their personal leadership capabilities including personality traits, skills and
knowledge levels, and available strategies (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004).
Administrators continuously employ decision-making based on acquired skills, personal
knowledge, and experiences. Bandura (1997) suggested that a strong sense of self-efficacy is
necessary to access skills and knowledge and simultaneously remaining focused on tasks in a
complex environment.
Administrative assets of school administrators should then be weighed against their
personal weaknesses, liabilities, or posed challenges that the administrator possesses that
would constitute barriers or constraints to leading a school effectively through the
implementation stage of a school’s character education program. Administrators’ self-efficacy
judgments are subsequently determined by the dynamic interplay between leadership assets
and liabilities (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004).
Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2004) commented that few empirical investigations of
principals’ sense of efficacy had been conducted. The studies that have been conducted,
however, Tschannen-Moran and Gareis noted had provided interesting findings. For example,
“principals with a strong sense of self-efficacy have been found to be persistent in pursuing
their goals, but are also more flexible and more willing to adapt strategies to meeting
contextual conditions” (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004, p. 574). In terms of problemsolving
skills when confronting school issues, according to Tschannen-Moran and Gareis
(2004), high efficacy principals, “do not interpret their inability to solve the problems
immediately as failure. They regulate their personal expectations to correspond to conditions,
typically remaining confident and calm and keeping their sense of humor, even in difficult
situations” (p. 574). In contrast, significant leadership challenges are experienced by
principals with low efficacy beliefs. According to Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2004), low
efficacy belief principals have: