Effect of Leadership Experience on Agricultural Education Student Teacher Self-efficacy in Classroom Management

Beginning agriculture teachers often cite classroom management as the most important problem they face in their careers. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of leadership experience on self-perceived teacher efficacy among agricultural education student teachers. The three dimensions of teacher efficacy addressed in this study included: Classroom Management & Discipline, External Influences, and Personal Teaching efficacy. This study sought to identify leadership development experiences of student teachers that were predictive of higher levels of teacher efficacy in classroom management. This information was believed to be of potential value to enhance teacher efficacy in classroom management in the pre-service agricultural teacher education program. However, the results of this study indicated that the leadership development experiences selected were not of practical value in predicting their perceived level of self-efficacy. Further research was recommended to identify factors related to higher levels of self-efficacy among future teachers.