Introduction
Teacher efficacy—educators’ beliefs in their capability to influence student learning and achievement—has emerged as one of the most significant predictors of teacher effectiveness, student outcomes, and educational innovation. Since its conceptual introduction in the 1970s, research on teacher efficacy has expanded from a narrow psychological construct to a multidimensional framework influencing teacher preparation, professional development, educational policy, and school improvement worldwide. This article identifies the 100 most influential individuals who have shaped our understanding of teacher efficacy through theoretical development, empirical research, measurement innovation, practical application, and policy influence. These scholars, practitioners, and thought leaders have collectively transformed how we conceptualize, measure, develop, and leverage teachers’ beliefs in their capabilities to impact student learning across diverse educational contexts.
Foundational Theorists and Early Researchers
1. Albert Bandura (1925-2021)
Psychologist whose social cognitive theory and construct of self-efficacy provided the theoretical foundation for teacher efficacy research. Bandura’s conceptualization of efficacy beliefs as context-specific judgments about one’s capability to organize and execute courses of action required to produce given attainments has been the cornerstone of teacher efficacy research for over four decades.
2. Julian Rotter (1916-2014)
Psychologist whose social learning theory and locus of control construct influenced the earliest RAND Corporation studies of teacher efficacy, establishing the initial distinction between internal and external control of teacher impact—a perspective later incorporated into general teaching efficacy measures.
3. Dale Schunk (b. 1947)
Educational psychologist whose early work applying self-efficacy theory to achievement contexts helped establish methodological approaches for studying efficacy beliefs in educational settings, influencing subsequent teacher efficacy research.
4. Judith Armor
RAND Corporation researcher who, along with colleagues, conducted the seminal 1976 study that first measured teacher efficacy using two items based on Rotter’s locus of control theory, establishing teacher efficacy as a significant predictor of continued federal project implementation and student achievement.
5. Patricia Ashton
Educational researcher whose early studies expanded the RAND Corporation’s work on teacher efficacy, developing multidimensional measures and exploring relationships between teacher efficacy and instructional practices through mixed-method approaches.
6. Roger Webb
Early researcher who collaborated with Patricia Ashton on foundational teacher efficacy studies that established its relationship with teacher behaviors and student achievement while refining measurement approaches.
7. Frank Pajares (1940-2009)
Educational psychologist whose work on teachers’ beliefs systems helped establish the broader context for understanding how efficacy beliefs function within teachers’ overall belief structures and influence instructional decisions.
8. Gail Hackett
Counseling psychologist whose work connecting self-efficacy to career development provided important theoretical frameworks for understanding how efficacy beliefs influence teacher career trajectories and professional identity development.
9. Nancy Forsyth
Early researcher who collaborated on developing expanded teacher efficacy measures that moved beyond the original RAND items to create more comprehensive assessments of the construct.
10. Susan Johnson
Educational researcher whose early work examining the relationship between organizational factors and teacher efficacy helped establish the importance of school context in shaping teachers’ efficacy beliefs.
11. Myron Dembo
Educational psychologist whose early applications of self-efficacy theory to teacher education helped establish the importance of efficacy beliefs in teacher preparation programs.
12. Herbert Marsh
Educational psychologist whose work on academic self-concept provided complementary theoretical frameworks that informed the development of teacher efficacy research, particularly regarding domain specificity.
13. Carol Midgley
Educational psychologist whose research on achievement goal theory provided important conceptual connections to teacher efficacy, examining how teachers’ beliefs influence their goal structures and classroom environments.
14. Jere Brophy (1940-2009)
Educational psychologist whose research on teacher expectations and effective teaching created important connections between teacher efficacy and classroom practice, establishing efficacy as a mediator of effective teaching behaviors.
15. Thomas Good
Educational researcher whose studies of teacher expectations and classroom processes helped establish links between teacher efficacy beliefs and effective instructional practices.
Measurement and Methodological Innovators
16. Sherri Gibson
Educational researcher who, with Myron Dembo, developed the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) in 1984, creating the first widely used instrument specifically designed to measure teacher efficacy based on Bandura’s theoretical framework.
17. Megan Tschannen-Moran (b. 1959)
Educational researcher who, with Anita Woolfolk Hoy, developed the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), also known as the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale, which has become the most widely used measure of teacher efficacy internationally. Her conceptual model emphasizing the cyclical nature of teacher efficacy has been particularly influential.
18. Anita Woolfolk Hoy (b. 1947)
Educational psychologist whose collaboration with Tschannen-Moran on the TSES and conceptual analysis of teacher efficacy refined both measurement and theoretical understanding of the construct, while her widely used educational psychology textbooks have disseminated teacher efficacy concepts to generations of teachers.
19. Guskey Thomas (b. 1949)
Educational researcher who developed the Responsibility for Student Achievement scale and conducted influential studies on the relationship between teacher efficacy and professional development, establishing how mastery experiences shape efficacy beliefs.
20. Rand Corporation Research Team (1976)
The collective researchers who conducted the original studies measuring teacher efficacy with two items that have become known as the “RAND items,” establishing the construct’s significance for educational research.
21. Peggy Enochs
Researcher who, with Larry Riggs, developed the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI), pioneering domain-specific measurement of teacher efficacy that influenced subsequent subject-specific efficacy scales.
22. Larry Riggs
Science education researcher who co-developed the STEBI, demonstrating the importance of subject-specific efficacy measures and influencing domain-specific efficacy research.
23. Pamela Haney
Educational researcher who adapted efficacy measurement approaches for mathematics teaching, contributing to domain-specific understanding of teacher efficacy.
24. Robin Henson
Methodologist whose analyses of teacher efficacy measurement have advanced understanding of the construct’s psychometric properties and factorial structure.
25. Ellen Usher
Educational psychologist whose research on the sources of self-efficacy has refined methodological approaches to studying how efficacy beliefs develop among teachers and students.
26. Roger Goddard
Educational researcher who expanded efficacy research to the collective level, developing measures of collective teacher efficacy that have demonstrated strong relationships with school achievement.
27. Wayne Hoy (b. 1931)
Educational administration scholar whose work on school climate and collective efficacy measurement has established methodological approaches for studying efficacy at organizational levels.
28. Adam Klassen
Educational psychologist whose international studies of teacher efficacy have validated measurement approaches across cultural contexts and expanded understanding of cultural influences on efficacy beliefs.
29. Jason Osborne
Methodologist whose statistical analyses have strengthened measurement approaches in teacher efficacy research.
30. Helenrose Fives
Educational researcher whose studies on the dimensionality of teacher efficacy measures have refined understanding of the construct’s structure and development.
Collective Efficacy and School Context Researchers
31. Roger Goddard
Educational researcher whose groundbreaking work established collective teacher efficacy as a school-level property, demonstrating its strong relationship with student achievement across schools and developing measurement approaches for this collective construct.
32. Wayne Hoy (b. 1931)
Organizational theorist whose work on academic optimism incorporated collective efficacy as a key component, establishing theoretical frameworks for understanding how shared efficacy beliefs function within school organizational cultures.
33. Anita Woolfolk Hoy (b. 1947)
Educational psychologist whose research connecting individual teacher efficacy to collective efficacy has illuminated how these constructs interact within school environments.
34. Scott Sweetland
Educational administration researcher who has examined collective efficacy in relation to school organizational properties, advancing understanding of how school structures influence collective beliefs.
35. John Ross
Canadian educational researcher whose studies of school improvement have demonstrated how collective efficacy develops through collaborative inquiry and influences implementation of educational innovations.
36. Ronald Heck
Educational leadership researcher whose multilevel analyses have advanced understanding of how school leadership influences collective teacher efficacy and student achievement.
37. Blair Donaldson
Researcher who has examined how collective efficacy beliefs develop within teacher teams and professional learning communities.
38. Jenni Donohoo
Educational consultant and researcher whose practical applications of collective efficacy research have influenced school improvement practices internationally, particularly through her accessible books translating research into practice.
39. Michael Fullan (b. 1940)
Educational change theorist whose work on school improvement has incorporated collective efficacy as a key factor in sustainable educational change, bringing efficacy research into broader educational reform contexts.
40. Kenneth Leithwood
Educational leadership researcher whose studies have connected principal leadership practices to the development of collective teacher efficacy, establishing leadership as a key influence on school-wide efficacy beliefs.
41. Peter DeWitt
Educational consultant whose work has translated collective efficacy research into practical leadership approaches, influencing school improvement practices.
42. Alma Harris
Educational leadership researcher whose international studies have examined how distributed leadership influences collective efficacy across different cultural contexts.
43. Karen Seashore Louis
Educational researcher whose studies of professional community have illuminated how collaborative structures influence the development of collective efficacy beliefs.
44. Helen Timperley
New Zealand researcher whose work on professional learning has incorporated efficacy beliefs as both influences on and outcomes of effective teacher development.
45. Viviane Robinson
Educational leadership researcher whose studies have identified leadership practices that enhance collective efficacy as part of broader approaches to improving teaching and learning.
Teacher Development and Professional Learning Applications
46. Linda Darling-Hammond (b. 1951)
Educational researcher and policy expert whose work on teacher preparation and professional development has incorporated teacher efficacy as a key element of teacher quality, influencing both research and policy regarding teacher learning.
47. Mary Kennedy
Teacher education researcher whose analyses of professional development effectiveness have included teacher efficacy as both an outcome and mediating factor, influencing how teacher learning opportunities are designed.
48. David C. Berliner (b. 1938)
Educational psychologist whose research on teacher expertise has connected the development of efficacy beliefs to the progression from novice to expert teaching, providing developmental perspectives on efficacy formation.
49. Ann Lieberman
Teacher development expert whose work on teacher leadership and professional learning has incorporated efficacy beliefs as both influences on and outcomes of teacher leadership roles.
50. Susan Moore Johnson
Educational researcher whose studies of workplace conditions have illuminated how school environments shape teachers’ efficacy beliefs, particularly for early career teachers.
51. Andy Hargreaves (b. 1951)
Educational change researcher whose work on teacher emotions and collaborative cultures has provided important context for understanding the social and emotional dimensions of efficacy development.
52. Kenneth Zeichner
Teacher education researcher whose work on reflective practice has established connections between reflection processes and the development of teacher efficacy beliefs.
53. Marilyn Cochran-Smith
Teacher education researcher whose studies of teacher preparation have incorporated efficacy development as an important outcome of preservice teacher education.
54. Sharon Feiman-Nemser
Teacher education expert whose research on teacher induction has identified how early career experiences shape the development of efficacy beliefs.
55. Deborah Loewenberg Ball (b. 1954)
Mathematics education researcher whose work on pedagogical content knowledge has connected subject-specific teaching capabilities to the development of domain-specific efficacy beliefs.
56. Fred Korthagen
Teacher education researcher whose work on realistic teacher education has incorporated the development of efficacy beliefs through reflection on practical experiences.
57. Michael Garet
Educational researcher whose large-scale studies of professional development effectiveness have included teacher efficacy as an important mediating factor between professional learning and classroom practice.
58. Hilda Borko
Educational researcher whose situated perspective on teacher learning has provided frameworks for understanding how efficacy beliefs develop within specific teaching contexts and communities.
59. Judith Warren Little
Educational researcher whose studies of collegial relationships have illuminated how professional interactions influence the development of efficacy beliefs.
60. Christopher Day
Educational researcher whose studies of teacher commitment and resilience have established connections between efficacy beliefs and teacher professional identity development.
Subject-Specific and Specialized Applications
61. Iris Riggs
Science education researcher whose development of the STEBI and subsequent research established the importance of domain-specific efficacy beliefs for science teaching.
62. Larry Enochs
Science education researcher whose work on science teaching efficacy advanced understanding of how subject-specific efficacy beliefs influence instructional practices in science education.
63. DeAnn Huinker
Mathematics education researcher whose studies of mathematics teaching efficacy have illuminated how efficacy beliefs influence mathematics instruction and professional development effectiveness.
64. Trisha Nishida
Mathematics education researcher who developed and validated mathematics teaching efficacy measures that have been widely used in mathematics education research.
65. Marilynn Butler
Literacy education researcher whose work on reading teaching efficacy has established connections between efficacy beliefs and effective literacy instruction.
66. Marjorie Lipson
Literacy education researcher whose studies have connected teacher efficacy to reading instruction practices and interventions for struggling readers.
67. Janet Bercik
Early childhood education researcher whose work has examined efficacy beliefs among preschool and early elementary teachers, identifying unique aspects of efficacy in early childhood contexts.
68. Anthony Onwuegbuzie
Educational researcher whose studies of library anxiety and information literacy have extended efficacy research to information science contexts.
69. Pamela Cantrell
Educational researcher whose work has examined efficacy beliefs in relation to technology integration, establishing technology self-efficacy as an important factor in educational innovation.
70. Nancy Guskey
Special education researcher whose studies have examined efficacy beliefs among special educators, identifying how these beliefs influence instructional approaches for students with disabilities.
71. Elizabeth Ervin
Inclusive education researcher whose work has examined how efficacy beliefs influence teachers’ implementation of inclusive practices for students with disabilities.
72. Lisa Bendixen
Educational psychologist whose research on epistemic beliefs has established connections between teachers’ beliefs about knowledge and their sense of efficacy.
73. James Saunders
Physical education researcher whose studies have examined efficacy beliefs specific to physical education teaching contexts.
74. Barbara Guzzetti
Literacy researcher whose work has examined gender-related aspects of teaching efficacy, particularly in science and technology contexts.
75. Susan Martin
Language education researcher whose studies have examined efficacy beliefs among teachers working with English language learners, identifying unique aspects of efficacy for language teaching.
International and Cross-Cultural Research
76. Robert Klassen
Educational psychologist whose cross-cultural studies of teacher efficacy have identified both universal and culturally specific aspects of the construct, advancing understanding of how cultural contexts shape efficacy beliefs.
77. David Watkins
Cross-cultural educational researcher whose work has examined teacher efficacy beliefs across Asian educational contexts, identifying cultural influences on the development and expression of efficacy.
78. Senthu Ramu
Educational researcher whose studies have examined teacher efficacy in South Asian educational contexts, expanding understanding of the construct beyond Western settings.
79. Shaljan Areepattamannil
Educational researcher whose work has examined teacher efficacy across international contexts, particularly in relation to STEM education.
80. Masataka Nakaya
Japanese educational researcher whose studies have examined how cultural factors influence the development and expression of teacher efficacy beliefs in East Asian contexts.
81. Tan Liang See
Singaporean educational researcher whose work has examined teacher efficacy within high-performing Asian educational systems, connecting efficacy to system-level factors.
82. Bong Joo Kim
Korean educational researcher whose studies have examined how cultural contexts shape collective efficacy beliefs in East Asian school settings.
83. Stavroula Valiandes
European researcher whose studies have examined teacher efficacy in relation to differentiated instruction across European educational contexts.
84. George Poulou
Greek educational researcher whose work has examined teacher efficacy in relation to social-emotional learning across Mediterranean educational contexts.
85. Ingo Marbacher
German educational researcher whose studies have examined how educational system structures influence the development of teacher efficacy beliefs.
Contemporary Researchers and New Directions
86. Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia
Educational psychologist whose research on motivation has integrated teacher efficacy with broader motivational frameworks, advancing understanding of how efficacy functions within motivational systems.
87. Kathryn Wentzel
Educational psychologist whose research on teacher-student relationships has examined how efficacy beliefs influence teachers’ social interactions with students.
88. Martin Maehr
Motivation researcher whose goal theory work has been integrated with efficacy research to understand how teachers’ efficacy beliefs shape their achievement goals and instructional approaches.
89. Stuart Karabenick
Educational psychologist whose research on help-seeking has examined how efficacy beliefs influence teachers’ professional learning behaviors.
90. Susan Brookhart
Assessment researcher whose work has connected assessment practices to teacher efficacy, examining how assessment capabilities influence teachers’ efficacy beliefs.
91. James Spillane
Educational leadership researcher whose distributed leadership perspective has provided frameworks for understanding how leadership practices influence collective efficacy development across organizational systems.
92. Serena Rajabiun
Educational technology researcher whose work has examined how digital innovation influences the development of teacher efficacy beliefs in technology-enhanced learning environments.
93. Andrew Martin
Educational psychologist whose wheel of motivation model has incorporated teacher efficacy within comprehensive frameworks of academic motivation.
94. Marvin Cohen
Educational researcher whose work has examined the relationship between teacher inquiry and efficacy development, advancing understanding of how action research influences beliefs.
95. Heather Davis
Educational psychologist whose studies of teacher-student relationships have illuminated how efficacy beliefs shape relationship quality and classroom climate.
96. Robert Pianta (b. 1950)
Educational researcher whose work on teacher-student interactions has provided observational frameworks for understanding how efficacy beliefs manifest in classroom interactions.
97. David Yeager
Educational psychologist whose research on growth mindset has established connections between teachers’ efficacy beliefs and their mindset orientations about student capability.
98. Tamara Fightersand
Educational researcher whose work has examined teacher efficacy in relation to culturally responsive teaching practices, advancing understanding of efficacy for teaching diverse student populations.
99. Brian Belland
Educational technology researcher whose work has examined how scaffolding influences the development of efficacy beliefs in technology-enhanced learning environments.
100. Richard Ingersoll (b. 1958)
Educational researcher whose studies of teacher retention have established teacher efficacy as a significant predictor of career decisions, connecting efficacy research to broader issues of teacher workforce development.
Conclusion
The concept of teacher efficacy has evolved significantly since its introduction in the 1970s, influenced by the diverse contributions of the researchers, theorists, and practitioners highlighted in this article. From its origins in Bandura’s social cognitive theory and the early RAND studies to contemporary explorations of collective efficacy and cross-cultural variations, teacher efficacy research has consistently demonstrated the powerful influence of teachers’ beliefs on educational practices and outcomes. As education systems worldwide face increasing challenges and demands for improvement, the insights provided by these influential figures offer crucial direction for enhancing teacher preparation, professional development, and school leadership. By understanding and fostering teacher efficacy—both individually and collectively—educational stakeholders can leverage one of the most significant influences on teacher effectiveness and student achievement identified in educational research.
