Examining the relationship between cultural capital and self-efficacy: A mixed design study on teachers

Abstract

Cultural capital expresses all the cultural acquisitions that individuals gain both through inheritance and through different channels in the course of their lives. Teachers' self-efficacy perceptions play an important role in their demonstrating more effort and responsibility to provide support to students' learning. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between teachers' self-efficacies and cultural capital levels. The study was used an explanatory mixed method. In the quantitative part of the study, to measure cultural capital competencies of teachers, the "Cultural Capital Scale" developed by Tösten (2014) was used. As to measure teachers’ self-efficacy perceptions, the "Teachers’ Self-efficacy Scale" developed by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) and adapted into Turkish by Çapa, Çakıroğlu and Sarıkaya (2005) was used. In the qualitative part of the study, a structured interview form developed by the researchers was used. 885 458 teachers working in Turkey compose the population of the quantitative part of the study. 2452 teachers determined by the stratified sampling technique participated in the study in the academic year of 2016-2017. As the sample strata, the development classification of the Ministry of Development was taken as a basis. The study group of the qualitative part consisted of 29 teachers who were determined by the easily accessible sampling method. As a result of the study, it was determined that the teachers' self-efficacy perceptions were "fairly adequate" and their cultural capital competencies were "moderate." When the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy perceptions and cultural capital competencies is examined, it is observed that there is a "positive" relationship at the "moderate" level. As a result of the analyses, cultural capital competencies that teachers had were found to be a significant predictor of self-efficacy perceptions. It was observed that the teachers put forward mainly intellectual accumulation when they were asked how cultural capital competencies and how the areas in which cultural capital competencies contribute to the perception of self-efficacy could be increased. The most mentioned areas by the teachers in relation to the things that could be done to increase cultural capital competencies were reading, participation in cultural activities, cultural education, and training. © 2020, Athens Institute for Education and Research. All rights reserved.