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EXAMINING TEACHERS’ EFFICACY, COMMITMENT AND LANGUAGE COMPETENCY IN TEACHING

ARABIC AMONG AFL TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

BY

MOHAMAD AZRIEN BIN MOHAMED ADNAN

A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Kulliyyah of Education

International Islamic University Malaysia

AUGUST 2016

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ABSTRACT

Teacher efficacy researches have been widely examined by many researchers in various context and subject areas. Yet, in the field of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL), the investigation into teachers’ efficacy and its relation to their language competency and commitment is extremely uncommon. Therefore, the current study explores the level of teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment, as well as the validity and reliability of the instrument used in assessing teachers’ efficacy in teaching Arabic, their Arabic language competency and also their commitment in teaching. The study also examined Arabic teaching efficacy in relation to the teacher language competency and teacher commitment. A quantitative research design was employed in this study. The current study applied a stratified random sampling because of the geographical reason and involved 252 teachers out of 487 teachers from 57 National Religious Secondary Schools throughout Malaysia. The instruments used were adapted from a few resources with some modification to suit the Arabic teaching context in Malaysia. The means and percentages were used to interpret the level of teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment. A structural equation modeling with AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures) software was employed to investigate the direct and indirect effects of hypotheses model. The descriptive analysis showed that teachers evaluated themselves at the high level on those three constructs. A confirmatory factor analysis, on the other hand, supported the adequacy of the constructs of teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment and found that the three constructs were multidimensional constructs with four underlying dimensions respectively. The dimension of teacher efficacy consists of efficacy for language use, efficacy for classroom management, efficacy for teaching strategies and efficacy for student engagement. The dimension of teacher language competence comprises four language skills namely listening, speaking, reading and writing skill. Whereas teacher commitment construct involves commitment to profession, commitment to teaching field, commitment to student and commitment to school. The findings also showed that teacher efficacy directly influence teacher language competency and, teacher language competency directly influence teacher commitment. Teacher language competency was also found to be a mediator in relationship between teacher efficacy and teacher commitment. Several essential theoretical, practical and methodological implication for developing and enhancing teachers in the Malaysian secondary Arabic education context have arisen from the current study.

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iii

ثحبلا صخلم

ABSTRACT IN ARABIC

تاقايسو تلاامج في ينثحابلا نم ديدعلا لبق نم عساو قاطن ىلع ينملعلما ةيلاعف صحف تم دقل ةيبنجأ ةغلك ةيبرعلا ةغللا ميلعت لامج في ثابحلأا نإف ،كلذ عمو .ةفلتمخ

(TAFL)

ينملعلما ةيلاعف نع

ملعلما مازتلاو ةيبرعلا مهتغل ةءافكب اهتقلاعو ين

،كلذل .ةياغلل ةردنا فشكتست

هذه ىوتسم ةساردلا

ينملعلما ةيلاعف ،مهمازتلاو ةيبرعلا مهتغل ةءافك و

ختسلما اتهابثو ةادلأا قدص نع لاضف مييقت في ةمد

امك .سيردتلا في مهمازتلا كلذكو ةيبرعلا ةغللا في متهداجإو ،ةيبرعلا ةغللا ميلعت في ينملعلما ةيلاعف عف ةساردلا تثبح .مهمازتلاو ينملعلما ىدل ةغللا ةءافكب قلعتي اميف ةيبرعلا ةغللا سيردت ةيلا

و مدختسا

جهنم ثحابلا ةيقبط ةيئاوشع ةنيع ىلع ةيلالحا ةساردلا تقبط .ةساردلا ةذله يمكلا ثحبلا

ىلع تلمتشاو ،ةيفارغج بابسلأ 252

نم ةملعمو املعم 57

ةينيدلا ةيوناثلا سرادلما نم ةسردم

عيجم في تلايدعتلا ضعب عم تىش دراوم نم ةسبتقم ةمدختسلما تاودلأا تناكو .يازيلام ءانحأ

وتسم يرسفتل ةيوئلما بسنلاو تاطسوتلما مادختسا تم .يازيلام في ةيبرعلا ةغللا ميلعت قايس بسانتل ى

تل ةيلكيلها ةلداعلما ةجذمنلا قيبطت تمو .مهمازتلاو ةيبرعلا مهتغل ةءافك و ينملعلما ةيلاعف ح

رثالآا قيق

.ةضترفلما جذومنلل ةرشابلما يرغو ةرشابلما وميقي ينملعلما نأ يفصولا ليلحتلا رهظأو

ن ع مهسفنأ ىل

ةيتلآا لماوعلا يديكوتلا يلماعلا ليلحتلا جئاتن تمعدو .ثلاثلا داعبلأا كلت في لاع ىوتسم -

أ تدجوو ينملعلما مازتلاو ةيوغللا ينملعلما ةءافكو ينملعلما ةيلاعف ك ةثلاثلا لماوعلا ن

ةددعتم تنا

ةغللا مادختسا ةيلاعف نم نوكتيو ينملعلما ةيلاعف دْعُ ب :لياوتلا ىلع يه ةنماك داعبأ ةعبرأ عم داعبلأا دْعُ ب امأ .بلاطلا ةكراشم ةيلاعفو سيردتلا تايجيتاترسا ةيلاعفو ةيساردلا لوصفلا ةرادإ ةيلاعفو اهلما نم فلأتت ةيوغللا ينملعلما ةءافك عامتسلاا ةراهم يهو عبرلأا ةيوغللا تار

ةراهمو ملاكلا ةراهمو

سيردتلا لامج في مازتللااو ةنهلما في مازتللاا ىلع ينملعلما مازتلا دْعُ ب يوطنيو .ةباتكلا ةراهمو ةءارقلا رشابم لكشب رثؤت ينملعلما ةءافك نأ اضيأ جئاتنلا ترهظأو .ةسردملل مازتللااو بلاطلل مازتللااو ىلع .ينملعلما مازتلا ىلع رشابم لكشب رثؤت ةيوغللا ينملعلما ةءافك نأ امك ةيوغللا ينملعلما ةءافك

دجُو دقو امك .مهمازتلاو ينملعلما ةيلاعف ينب ةقلاعلا في ةطيسو نوكت ةيوغللا ينملعلما ةءافك نأ ًاضيأ

ريوطتل ةيجهنلماو ةيلمعلاو ةيرظنلا سسلأا نم ديدعلا ةساردلا هذه ترهظأ تو ينسردلما

في مهزيزع

.يازيلام في ةيبرعلا ةغللا ميلعت قايس

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APPROVAL PAGE

The dissertation of Mohamad Azrien bin Mohamed Adnan has been approved by the following:

_____________________________

Arifin bin Mamat Supervisor

_____________________________

Mohd Burhan bin Ibrahim Co-Supervisor

_____________________________

Ismaiel Hassanein Ahmed Mohamed Co-Supervisor

_____________________________

Sueraya binti Che Haron Internal Examiner

_____________________________

Nik Mohd Rahimi bin Nik Yusoff External Examiner

_____________________________

Kamarul Shukri bin Mat Teh External Examiner

_____________________________

Feham bin Md Ghalib Chairman

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Mohamad Azrien bin Mohamed Adnan

Signature ... Date 25th July 2016

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COPYRIGHT PAGE

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

I declare that the copyright holders of this dissertation are jointly owned by the student and IIUM

Copyright © 2016 by Mohamad Azrien bin Mohamed Adnan and International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved.

EXAMINING TEACHERS’ EFFICACY, COMMITMENT AND LANGUAGE COMPETENCY IN TEACHING ARABIC AMONG AFL TEACHERS IN

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below.

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries.

By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.

Affirmed by Mohamad Azrien bin Mohamed Adnan

………. 25th July 2016 Signature Date

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Alhamdulillah and thanks foremost to Almighty Allah for bestowing me the strength, patience and endurance in completing this dissertation. It gives me great pride and honour to be a doctoral graduate at the International Islamic University (IIUM), Malaysia. While this dissertation is one of the proudest moments in my life, it is at the same time the culmination of the hard work of many individuals who have helped me along the way and I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks and appreciations for the support, guidance, and assistance over the past four years.

I am foremost grateful to my supervisors, Associate Professor Dr Arifin Mamat, for his encouragement during this research. I am constantly amazed at his knowledge and his willingness to share his time and expertise. My thanks go to my PhD committee, Associate Professor Dr Mohd Burhan Ibrahim, his guidance and patience in explaining the knowledge, especially in the context of research methodology. Special thanks also go to my second PhD committee, Associate Professor Dr Ismaiel Hassanein Ahmed Mohamed for his support and understanding throughout the period of writing the thesis.

I am and I will remain forever grateful to all the lecturers and staff of the Kulliyyah of Education (KOED), IIUM, who have provided me with help and assistance during the four years of my study

My sincere gratitude and appreciation also go to the Ministry of Higher Education and University of Malaya, for giving me this priceless opportunity to further my study in this doctoral program.

My family deserves special thanks for all of their support, patience, and understanding. Thanks to my wife, Sharifah Buniamin, for her ability to push, support and always give spirit to continue this journey. Without her, it would have been just a dream for me to pursue a Ph.D. I express my deep gratitude to my adorable kids, Faris, Nisrien, Shirien, Rayyan, Ammar and Rafieq, who have made constant sacrifices so I could get the work completed. I will never be able to repay them for their understanding.

My heartfelt appreciation goes to all my doctoral colleagues especially Tajul Asyikin, Inas Zulkifli, Fuad Trayek, Ridwan Haris and Ismail Alatrash, as I will always treasure the friendship and relationships that we have managed to establish.

I also extend my thanks to Associate Professor Dr Ainol Madziah Zubairi for proofreading my dissertation. You have done a good job! May Allah reward you for your kindness and patient.

Finally, I thank the many teachers who were willing to complete the surveys for this dissertation – without their assistances this dissertation would not have occurred.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ... ii

Abstract in Arabic ... iii

Approval Page ... iv

Declaration ... v

Copyright Page ... vi

Acknowledgements ... vii

Table of Contents ... viii

List of Tables ... xii

List of Figures ... xv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ... 1

1.1 Background ... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ... 5

1.3 Research Objectives ... 8

1.4 Research Questions ... 8

1.5 Hypotheses Development ... 9

1.5.1 Measurement Model of Teacher Efficacy, Teacher Language Competency and Teacher Commitment ... 10

1.5.2 Teacher Efficacy Construct ... 10

1.5.3 Teacher Commitment Construct ... 11

1.5.4 Teacher Language Competency Construct ... 12

1.5.5 Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Language Competency ... 12

1.5.6 Teacher Language Competency and Teacher Commitment ... 13

1.5.7 Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Commitment ... 14

1.5.8 The Mediating Role of Teacher Language Competency ... 15

1.6 Significance of the Study ... 15

1.7 Definition of Terms ... 17

1.7.1 Teacher Efficacy ... 17

1.7.2 Teacher Commitment ... 17

1.7.3 Language Competency ... 17

1.7.4 SMKA (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama) ... 17

1.8 Chapter Summary ... 18

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW... 19

2.1 Introduction ... 19

2.2 Theoretical Background ... 19

2.2.1 Social Cognitive Theory ... 19

2.2.2 Self-Efficacy ... 22

2.2.2.1 Mastery Teaching Experiences... 23

2.2.2.2 Vicarious Experience ... 24

2.2.2.3 Social Persuasion ... 24

2.2.2.4 Physiological and emotional... 24

2.3 Teacher Education ... 25

2.4 Teacher Efficacy and Its Measurement ... 26

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2.4.1 Rand Studies ... 26

2.4.2 Gibson and Dembo (1984) Teacher Efficacy Scale ... 28

2.4.3 Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy (2001) Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) ... 29

2.5 Research on Teachers’ Efficacy, Commitment and Language Competency ... 31

2.5.1 Teacher Efficacy and Student Outcome ... 31

2.5.2 Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Commitment ... 33

2.5.3 Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Perceived Language Competency ... 34

2.6 Conceptual Framework... 37

2.6.1 Dependent Variable: Teacher Efficacy ... 38

2.6.1.1 Teacher Efficacy and Classroom Management ... 38

2.6.1.2 Teacher Efficacy and School Environment ... 42

2.6.1.3 Teacher efficacy and Foreign Language Use ... 43

2.6.2 Mediating Variable: Teacher Language Competency ... 44

2.6.2.1 Listening Skill ... 45

2.6.2.2 Speaking Skill ... 46

2.6.2.3 Reading Skill ... 47

2.6.2.4 Writing Skill ... 48

2.6.3 Dependent Variable: Teacher Commitment ... 49

2.6.3.1 Commitment to Students ... 50

2.6.3.2 Commitment to the Teaching Field ... 51

2.6.3.3 Commitment to School ... 52

2.6.3.4 Commitment to Profession ... 52

2.7 Gap in the Literature ... 53

2.8 Chapter Summary ... 55

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 56

3.1 Introduction ... 56

3.2 Research Design ... 56

3.3 Population ... 57

3.4 Sampling Frame ... 58

3.4.1 Sample Size Determination ... 59

3.4.2 Sampling Techniques ... 60

3.4.3 Sample Selection Procedure ... 62

3.5 Instrumentation ... 64

3.5.1 Instrument Development ... 64

3.5.2 Validation Process ... 67

3.5.3 Data Recoded ... 69

3.6 Reliability ... 69

3.7 Pilot Study ... 71

3.8 Data Entry and Analysis ... 72

3.8.1 Research Question 1 ... 72

3.8.2 Research Question 2 ... 72

3.8.3 Research Objective 3 to 6 ... 73

3.9 Chapter Summary ... 73

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CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND RESULTS... 74

4.1 Introduction ... 74

4.2 Data Analysis: An Overview ... 74

4.2.1 SEM Assumption ... 75

4.2.2 Maximum Likelihood Estimation (ML) ... 76

4.2.3 Goodness-of-Fit Assessment ... 76

4.3 Preliminary Data Analysis ... 78

4.3.1 Data Screening ... 78

4.3.2 Missing Data or Omissions ... 78

4.3.3 Outliers ... 79

4.4 Response Rate ... 84

4.5 Respondents’ Background ... 84

4.6 Cross Tabulation of Respondent Background ... 86

4.6.1 Education and Specialization ... 86

4.6.2 Place of Study and Specialization ... 86

4.6.3 Position Grade and Teaching Experience ... 87

4.7 Descriptive Analysis ... 87

4.7.1 Level of Teacher Efficacy in Teaching Arabic ... 88

4.7.1.1 Efficacy for Arabic Language Use ... 90

4.7.1.2 Efficacy for Classroom Management ... 91

4.7.1.3 Efficacy for Instructional Strategies ... 92

4.7.1.4 Efficacy for Student Engagement ... 94

4.7.2 Level of Teacher Commitment ... 95

4.7.2.1 Commitment to Profession ... 95

4.7.2.2 Commitment to Teaching ... 97

4.7.2.3 Commitment to School ... 98

4.7.2.4 Commitment to Student ... 99

4.7.3 Level of Arabic Language Competence ... 100

4.7.3.1 Arabic Listening Skills ... 101

4.7.3.2 Arabic Speaking Skills ... 102

4.7.3.3 Arabic Reading Skills ... 103

4.7.3.4 Arabic Writing Skills ... 104

4.8 Analysis and Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): Stage 1 ... 105

4.8.1 CFA for Multidimensional Constructs of Teacher Efficacy ... 107

4.8.2 CFA for Multidimensional Constructs of Teacher Commitment ... 112

4.8.3 CFA for Multidimensional Constructs of Teacher Language Competency ... 117

4.9 Analysis and Results of Measurement Model of IntegRated Teacher Efficacy: Stage 2 ... 122

4.10 Analysis and Results of Structural Model: Stage 3 ... 125

4.10.1 Structural Model 1 – Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Language Competency ... 126

4.10.2 Structural Model 2 – Teacher Language Competency and Teacher Commitment ... 128

4.10.3 Structural Model 3 – Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Commitment ... 129

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4.10.4 Structural Model 4 – Teacher Efficacy, Teacher

Commitment and Teacher Language Competency (Partially

Mediator) ... 131

4.10.5 Structural Model 5 –Teacher Language Competency, Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Commitment (Fully Mediator) ... 133

4.11 Chapter Summary ... 135

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ... 137

5.1 Introduction ... 137

5.2 Summary of Findings and Discussion ... 137

5.2.1 Level of Teacher Efficacy in Teaching Arabic ... 137

5.2.2 Level of Teacher Commitment ... 139

5.2.3 Level of Teacher Language Competency ... 142

5.2.4 Measurement Model of Teacher Efficacy, Language Competency and Teacher Commitment ... 145

5.2.4.1 Validity of the CFA Model of Teacher Efficacy ... 145

5.2.4.2 Validity of the CFA Model of Teacher Language Competency ... 146

5.2.4.3 Validity of the CFA Model of Teacher Commitment ... 148

5.2.5 Structural Model of Teacher Efficacy, Language Competency and Teacher Commitment ... 149

5.3 Significant Implications of the Research ... 153

5.3.1 Enhance the Teachers’ Confidence in Teaching Arabic ... 153

5.3.2 Theoretical Implications ... 155

5.3.3 Methodological Implication ... 158

5.4 Limitations of the Research ... 159

5.5 Recommendation for Future Research ... 160

5.6 Conclusion ... 161

REFERENCES ... 163

APPENDIX 1 QUESTIONNAIRE ... 178

APPENDIX 2 MODIFICATION INDICES (TEACHER EFFICACY) ... 186

APPENDIX 3 MODIFICATION INDICES (TEACHER COMMITMENT) ... 189

APPENDIX 4 MODIFICATION INDICES (TEACHER LANGUAGE COMPETENCY) ... 191

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LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Page No.

3.1 The Number of Teachers Teaching Arabic in National Religious Secondary

Schools as of June 2014 59

3.2 Sample Distribution of National Religious Secondary Schools 61 3.3 Krejcie and Morgan’s Table for Determining Sample Size 63 3.4 Total Frequency Level Interpretation (Likert Scale of 7) 65 3.5 Total Frequency Level Interpretation (Likert Scale of 7) 66

3.6 Mean score Interpretation (Likert Scale of 7) 66

3.7 Details of Dimensions 67

3.8 Cronbach's Alpha for Pilot Study 71

3.9 Summary of Statistical Techniques 72

4.1 Summary of Goodness-of-Fit Indices 77

4.2 Measures of the Constructs and Descriptive Statistics of Teacher Efficacy 81 4.3 Measures of the Constructs and Descriptive Statistics of Teacher

Commitment 82

4.4 Measures of the Constructs and Descriptive Statistics of Teacher Language

Competency 83

4.5 Profile of Respondents 85

4.6 Highest Education and Specialization 86

4.7 No. of Participant by Place of Study and Specialization 86 4.8 Participants by Position Grade and Teaching Experience 87

4.9 Level of Teacher Efficacy in Teaching Arabic 89

4.10 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher Efficacy

for Language Use 91

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4.11 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher Efficacy

for Classroom Management 92

4.12 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher Efficacy

for Instructional Strategies 93

4.13 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher Efficacy

for Student Engagement 94

4.14 Level of Teacher Commitment in Teaching Arabic 95

4.15 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher

Commitment to Profession 96

4.16 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher

Commitment to Teaching 97

4.17 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher

Commitment to School 99

4.18 Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation of Teacher

Commitment to Student 100

4.19 Level of Teacher Competency 101

4.20 Frequencies, Mean and Standard Deviation of the Items of the Listening

Skills 102

4.21 Frequencies, Mean and Standard Deviation of the Items of the Speaking

Skill 103

4.22 Frequencies, Mean and Standard Deviation of the Items of the Reading

Skill 104

4.23 Frequencies, Mean and Standard Deviation of the Items of the Writing

Skill 105

4.24 Summary of the Fit Indices of The Multidimensional Constructs of Teacher

Efficacy 110

4.25 Summary of the Internal Reliability and Convergent Validity for the Revised

Model of TSE 110

4.26 Summary of the Fit Indices of The Multidimensional Constructs of Teacher

Commitment 115

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4.27 Summary of the Internal Reliability and Convergent Validity for the Revised

CFA Model of Teacher Commitment 115

4.28 Summary of the Fit Indices of The Multidimensional Constructs of Teacher

Commitment 120

4.29 Summary of the Internal Reliability and Convergent Validity for the Revised

CFA Model of Teacher Language Competency 120

4.30 Discriminant Validity of the Constructs 123

4.31 Hypotheses Testing (Structural Model 1) 127

4.32 Hypotheses Testing (Structural Model 2) 128

4.33 Hypotheses Testing (Structural Model 3) 130

4.34 Hypotheses Testing (Structural Model 4) 132

4.35 Hypotheses Testing (Structural Model 5) 133

4.36 Summary of the Items in the Integrated Teacher Efficacy Model 136

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Page No.

1.1 Conceptual Framework of the Study 10

2.1 Triadic Reciprocal Causation Model 20

4.1 Illustration of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) 107

4.2 CFA Model of Teacher Efficacy 108

4.3 Revised CFA Model of Teacher Efficacy 109

4.4 Second Order of CFA Model of Teacher Efficacy 112

4.5 CFA Model of Teacher Commitment 113

4.6 The Revised CFA Model for Teacher Commitment 114

4.7 Second Order of CFA Model of Teacher Commitment 117

4.8 CFA Model of Teacher Language Competency 118

4.9 The Revised CFA Model for Teacher Language Competency 119

4.10 Second Order of CFA Model of Teacher Commitment 121

4.11 Measurement Model of Teacher Efficacy 124

4.12 The Hypothesized Research Model 126

4.13 Structural Model 1 - The Hypothesized Model 127

4.14 Structural Model 2 - The Hypothesized Model 129

4.15 Structural Model 3 - The Hypothesized Model 130

4.16 Structural Model 4 - The Hypothesized Model 132

4.17 Structural Model 5 - The Hypothesized Model 134

5.1 Integrated Model of Teacher Efficacy 156

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1

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

Teachers are “direct practitioners of educational theories and principles. They are directly involved with a variety of teaching and learning activities and have a principal role in determining what is required and what best for their students. Therefore, it is crucial to understand teachers’ perceptions and views in teaching and learning (Jia, Eslami, &

Burlbaw, 2006). Teachers’ belief about their own capabilities and abilities is known as teacher efficacy. Teacher efficacy is an essential construct in teaching and learning.

Researchers in education have recognized that teacher efficacy has strong relationship with various aspects of teaching” and learning (Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, and Hoy, 1998;

Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2001).

Teacher efficacy as defined by Berman et al. (1977) is a “teacher’s judgment of his or her abilities in achieving the desired results of student engagement and learning, even though there are some students who are having difficulties and are not motivated.

It is also referred to as the teacher’s conviction that his or her teaching meet the expectation and can influence student” learning (Guskey and Passaro, 1993).

High efficacious “teachers are able to face and master challenging tasks. They enhance and support their efforts to deal with failure and quickly recover their sense of efficacy after failure or hindrances. They can positively influence student attainment despite a possible challenging situation (such as students who come from low social economy status families or a shortage of resources). High efficacious teachers also believe that unmotivated students are teachable if teachers devote” extra effort. In

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2

contrast, low efficacious teacher will avoid difficult or challenging tasks which they notice as personal menaces. They have weak commitments and are not able to pursue their goals. When encountering obstacles, they tend to loosen their efforts and quickly surrender, and are not able to concentrate on how to accomplish their tasks successfully.

They believe that they have inadequate capability to affect student learning and attainment. They also believe that student performance is outside their control and students’ success depends on the external environment. They also believe that there is little effort they can do to teach difficult students and prepare them to improve student learning.

Teacher efficacy “researches have been widely examined by many researchers in various contexts and subject areas. For instant, it has been explored in the Science education field (Bleicher, 2004; McKinnon, Moussa-Inaty, & Barza, 2014; Van Aalderen-Smeets, Van Der Molen, & Asma, 2012), Mathematic (Tran et al., 2012), physical education (Ozkan, Dalli, Bingol, Metin, & Yarali, 2014) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) (Chacón, 2005; Lee, 2009). However, in the field of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL), the investigation into teacher efficacy and its relation to teacher commitment is very uncommon. Therefore, it is crucial to pursue” a study in this area.

Examining teachers’ efficacy in teaching Arabic and its relation to their language competency and commitment seem to be particularly relevant and beneficial in the Malaysian context where Arabic is taught in the government secondary school setting. Similarly, the important of research in teacher efficacy among Arabic language teacher is important as researchers have argued that teacher development is the key to successful implementation.

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In Malaysia, Arabic language is “considered a foreign language as stipulated in the Education Act 1996. After the Islamic conquest of the Peninsular Malaysia, Arabic language grew actively as the language of the Muslim communities. It is a language to understand Islam and to perform worship. It has been used mostly for religious activities as well for academic discourses. Arabic was then expanded in usage into the Islamic studies centres such as Pondok and Madrasa. With the development of modern life today, Arabic language has grown to be the language” of communication.

The development of teaching Arabic in “Malaysia is impressive with the attention given by the Ministry of Education. This can clearly be seen with the establishment and the development of the National Religious Secondary Schools which began their operation in 1997. The syllabi were drawn up according to the current needs of Arabic among Malaysian school children. Arabic language curriculum for these schools were officially enacted starting January 1, 1977 with the takeover of 11 State Religious Secondary Schools and People’s Religious Schools as experiments.

The Arabic language in these schools was more focused on language for communicative purposes (Rosni, 2009) . Although there was only one Arabic subject offered in those schools, some components of language skills as well as knowledge of syntax, morphology, and balaghah (Arabic rethoric) were embedded in the syllabus.

To further enhance the experience of Arabic language teacher, the Ministry of Education provided specific training in the 1980’s to Arabic language teachers. These trainings were either conducted within Malaysia or in Arabic native language country such as Saudi Arabia and Sudan. In 1984, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) organized a series of courses and services for” Arabic language teachers. Through these courses, teachers built a new experience in the field of language education with some

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exposure to the communicative approaches in foreign language teaching (Rosni, 2009).

Arabic language textbooks were also streamlined by using the communicative approach. The process of preparing the textbooks was under the supervision of Arabic experts from ISESCO (Rosni, 2009).

Arabic language was “taught in Malaysian secondary schools as one of the subjects. Today, Arabic language is not only taught in the schools that use Arabic as the medium of instruction, but it is also a compulsory subject in some boarding schools and some programs at the higher learning institutions. The teaching and learning of Arabic has expanded with the establishment of the Arabic language departments in the Public Higher Learning Institutions. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was the pioneer university in establishing the Department of Arabic. It was then followed by the International Islamic University Malaysia, University of Malaya, Putra University of Malaysia, Islamic Science University of Malaysia and the much later” was the establishment of Faculty of Language and Communication in Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA).

The present study thus explores Malaysian secondary school teachers’ efficacy that may influence their language competency and commitment to carry out Arabic teaching tasks. Doff (1987) notices that “language competency affects teachers’

confidence level in the classroom. Poor language command may affect the professional status of teachers and it will disrupt the teaching process. High efficacious teachers of foreign language education are more likely to enhance their language competency in the classroom. As noticed by Eslami and Fatahi (2008), high efficacious teachers feel more inspired to use communicative-based” strategies in foreign language classroom

According to Coladarci (1992), teachers’ efficacy influence teacher commitment, and teacher commitment is found to affect student achievement (Louis,

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1998). Quality education can be “attained through the efforts of enthusiastic and immensely committed teachers. There are multiple forms of teacher commitment (Singh & Billingsley, 1998): commitment to profession, school and students (Firestone

& Rosenblum, 1988) and commitment to the teaching field (Billingsley, 1993).

Therefore, this research specifically will explore the teacher efficacy for classroom management, student engagement and instructional strategies in relation to their language competency and their commitment to students, profession, school and”

teaching field.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Teachers are important assets in “the success of teaching and learning. Quality teachers can also affect student performance. Therefore, improving teachers’ quality in the classroom will help students especially who are most educationally at risk. A large and growing body of literature has showed the correlation between the quality of teachers and student achievement (Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002; Smith & Gorard, 2007).

One way to improve teacher quality is through cultivating teacher” efficacy.

A considerable “amount of literature has been published on teacher efficacy and teaching effectiveness. Mohd Sufian Daud (2005) found that the level of teaching practices among Arabic language teachers in Malaysia was at the medium level. The study concluded that the level of teacher guidance, teacher friendly and teacher motivation had not reached a good level and this needed to be improved further. The study also found that the teaching practices among Arabic communication teachers did not affect students’ academic achievement. In other words, teachers were not able to influence students’ performance. This demands the Arabic teachers to improve their practices to be more effective because teaching and learning will be more effective if

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it meets the standards of good teaching” and practices. In addition, Noornajihan Jaafar and Ab Halim Tamuri (2013) examined the “level of efficacy and quality among Islamic education teachers, and the relationship between those two variables. The study showed that the level of efficacy and the quality of Islamic Education teachers were very high. They study also found there was a positive correlation between teacher efficacy” and teacher quality.

Another study by Lee (2009) explored teachers’ efficacy in teaching English among Korean elementary school teachers. In her study, she “proposed four dimensions of teacher efficacy namely (i) instructional strategies, (ii) classroom management, (iii) student engagement and (iv) oral language use. Lee found that there were very high positive correlation among the four dimensions of teacher” efficacy.

Research “has also found that teacher efficacy is always related to teacher language competency. For example, Chacon (2005), Eslami and Fatahi (2008) and Ghasemboland and Hashim (2013) investigated how English teachers’ sense of efficacy was related to their language competency. The studies consistently showed that there was a positive relationship between teachers' perceived efficacy and self- reported English competency. In other words, these studies suggested that teacher’s efficacy level in teaching foreign language is influenced by their foreign language competency. Foreign language teachers with high language competency tend to have high efficacy in teaching the foreign language and vice versa. As noted by Swanson (2013), teachers with high sense of efficacy are able to use foreign language. They are very confident to practice foreign language in their foreign language classroom. In addition, Shim (2001) investigated the relationship between teacher efficacy and foreign language skills among Korean school teachers. In contrast to earlier findings, Shim found that there was no relationship between the two variables. In fact, the

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findings from” Shim (2001), Chacon (2005), Eslam and Fatahi (2008) and Ghasemboland and Hashim (2013) demonstrated inconsistent finding. In conclusion, as far as the “relationship between teacher efficacy and teacher foreign language competency, there has not been conclusive finding of their relationship. Therefore this study set out to investigate the relationship between teacher efficacy and teacher foreign language competency in Arabic language” teaching in Malaysian secondary schools.

Teacher “efficacy was also associated with teacher commitment. For example, Coladarci (1992) investigated the relationship between teachers’ sense of efficacy and commitment to teaching. The findings suggested that teachers’ sense of efficacy was a strong predictor to teaching commitment. Another research by Canrinus, Helms- Lorenz, Beijaard, Buitink, and Hofman (2012) investigated how relevant indicators of teachers’ sense of efficacy and commitment are related. They found that teachers’

classroom self-efficacy” was significantly related to their commitment.

As discussed above, although “plethora of studies have investigated teacher efficacy, a literature review found no studies that have investigated teachers’ efficacy in teaching Arabic at the level of the secondary school and its relation to their language competency and teacher commitment. Nonetheless, teacher efficacy has been established as an important variable in the success of teaching and learning of a foreign language. Therefore, the current study attempts to address this issue by examining Malaysian secondary school Arabic teachers’ efficacy and its relationship with their perceived” Arabic language competency, and commitment in teaching Arabic.

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8 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the research are:

1. To examine the level of teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment.

2. To examine the validity and reliability of the measurement model of teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment.

3. To determine the influence of teachers’ efficacy on their language competency.

4. To determine the influence of teachers’ language competency on their commitment.

5. To determine the influence of teachers’ efficacy on their commitment.

6. To determine if teacher language competency mediates the influence of teachers’ efficacy on their commitment.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions are:

1. What are the perceived level of teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment?

2. Are the measurement models of teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment valid and reliable?

3. Does teachers’ efficacy influence their language competency?

4. Does teachers’ language competency influence their commitment?

5. Does teachers’ efficacy directly influence their commitment?

6. Does teacher language competency mediate the influence of teachers’

efficacy on their commitment?

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9 1.5 HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT

This study adapted the Tschannen-moran and Woolfolk Hoy's (2001) Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), Chacón's (2005) teacher’s language competency scale, and Mowday et al. (1979) and Nir's (2002) teacher commitment scale. Teachers’ efficacy can potentially influence instructional practices introduced in the classroom (Bandura, 1977).

There are “four dimensions of teachers' perceived efficacy: (i) efficacy for classroom management; (ii) efficacy for student engagement; (iii) efficacy for instructional strategies; and (iv) efficacy for language use. According to Coladarci (1992), teachers’

sense of efficacy (TSE) is the strongest predictor of teachers’ commitment. There are multiple forms of teacher commitment: commitment to teaching, commitment to students, commitment to school and commitment to profession (Firestone and Rosenblum 1988). Eslami and Fatahi (2008) found that there is a positive correlation between teachers' efficacy beliefs and their second language competency. Therefore, this study introduces language” competency as a mediating variable to ensure the rigorousness of the study. Figure 1.1 shows the conceptual framework of the study that depicts the relationships between teacher efficacy, teacher language competency and teacher commitment.

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