Relationship between coursebook dependency and self-efficacy in Turkish EFL teachers

Teaching materials that are regarded to exert an excessive impact on learners dominate the ELT field for decades. However, some teachers may attribute great importance to them, whereas some others may not. Both views can be problematic in terms of classroom dynamics. In that regard, a critical approach is required to measure the amount of dependence EFL teachers have. The primary aim of this study is to find out the dependency levels of EFL teachers on coursebooks and whether there is any sort of relationship between teachers' coursebook dependency levels and their teacher self-efficacy beliefs, and whether there is a significant difference between coursebook dependency and years of experience, and school levels. The participants of the study were 270 Ministry of Education English language teachers (204 female and 66 male) in Turkey. A quantitative approach was adopted in this study; thus, a coursebook dependency questionnaire and teacher-self efficacy questionnaire were administered to the participants via online platforms. The results revealed that most of the teachers were medium-dependent while the rest is highly dependent. There was no low dependent teacher. Similarly, teacher self-efficacy beliefs of teachers were mostly strong and very strong. Additionally, the relationship between coursebook dependency and teacher self-efficacy showed a positive correlation surprisingly. As for the teaching experience of participants, it showed a parallel increase with coursebook dependency. Finally, coursebook dependency results implied a significant difference with the school levels of EFL teachers concluding that high school teachers were the most dependent group in this study.