The effects of teachers' efficacy beliefs on students' perceptions of teacher relationship quality

- General teacher efficacy predicted students' initial closeness and increased closeness throughout the year.
- Teachers' sense of personal efficacy tended to predict students' reports of dependency and conflict at the beginning of the year.
- Teachers reporting a high sense of personal efficacy also had students who reported decreases in teacher dependency across the academic year.

The purpose of this study was to determine if teacher efficacy beliefs would predict middle school students' perceptions of relationship quality when controlling for gender, teacher expectations of student success, and student perceptions of parent relationship quality. Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques, we found that teachers' who had high expectations for success tended to have students who perceived closeness and low conflict at the beginning of the year. Over time, teachers' general efficacy was a significant predictor of students' increased reports of teacher closeness, while teachers' personal efficacy was a significant predictor of students' perceptions of increased conflict and decreased dependency on their teacher during the school year. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.