Student Self-Report of Social Self-Efficacy for Relating to Teachers
Last updated: May, 2005

This scale assesses the student’s self-reported beliefs that his or her interactions with the teacher will likely be positive and productive. The scale was based on and adapted from related work, including Bandura (1997), Patrick, Hicks and Ryan (1997), and Ryan and Patrick (2001). It was used during our recent three-year study of the parental involvement process, as reported in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (2005). 

The scale employed a four-point Likert-type response scale: 1 = not true, 2 = a little true, 3 = pretty true, 4 = very true.

Alpha reliability for the scale administered to a sample of 358 public school students in grades 4-6 was .72, as reported in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (2005).

Students were asked to respond to the following prompt:
“Dear Student, Students have many different ideas about school and homework. Please tell us how true each of the following ideas are for you. There are no right or wrong answers. The right answer is the answer that is most true for you. Your parents and teachers will NOT see what you say. Thank you!”

1.	I can get along with most of my teacher.
2.	I can go and talk with most of my teachers.
3.	I can get my teachers to help me if I have problems with other students.
4.	I can explain what I think to most of my teachers.
5.	I ask the teacher to tell me how well I'm doing in class.

References:

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman.

Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., & Sandler, H.M. (2005). Final Performance Report for OERI Grant # R305T010673: The Social Context of Parental Involvement: A Path to Enhanced Achievement. Presented to Project Monitor, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, March 22, 2005.

Patrick, H., Hicks, L. & Ryan, A.M. (1997). Relations of perceived social efficacy and social goal pursuit to self-efficacy for academic work. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17, 109-128.
 
Ryan, A.M., & Patrick, H. (2001). The classroom social environment and changes in adolescents’ motivation and engagement during middle school. American Educational Research Journal, 38, 437-460.