A comparison of self-efficacy perceptions and professional cooperation perceptions of middle grades mathematics teachers with other OECD countries

In this study, the self-efficacy beliefs and professional cooperation of middle grades mathematics teachers in Turkey and other OECD countries were compared. The data was obtained from the 2018 International Teaching and Learning Survey (TALIS-The Teaching and Learning International Survey). Access to data was obtained from OECD databases. TALIS 2018 was conducted with the participation of 48 OECD countries and 15,498 teachers. 5922 middle grades mathematics teachers participated in the TALIS 2018 survey, and 238 of 5922 middle grades mathematics teachers were from Turkey. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26 and focused on the middle school mathematics teachers' self-efficacy and factors that affected their professional cooperation. For data analysis, the cross-tabulation analysis and correlation analysis to investigate the relationship between variables were conducted. In order to explore the difference between the means one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. With the ANOVA test, it was determined that at least one of the groups was different than the other. When significant results were obtained (i.e., p<0,05), post-hoc test also known as the multiple comparisons test was used to compare the means of groups. According to the results of the study, Turkish teachers' self-efficacy is higher than other OECD middle school mathematics teachers specifically in the dimensions of classroom management, teaching, and student participation. In general, in OECD countries and Turkey, there are significant differences between teachers' self-efficacy with respect to gender. More specifically, in all dimensions of self-efficacy, female teachers' self-efficacy beliefs were significantly higher than male teachers. When Turkish and OECD countries' middle school teachers' self-efficacy beliefs are analyzed according to years of experience, there is a meaningful, positive, but weak correlation. When the middle grades mathematics teachers' professional cooperation beliefs were examined in all participant countries, it was determined there are some significant differences between some countries. Therefore, given the differences found from the analysis, Turkey isn't on the top of the list of countries.