Toward an Organising Theoretical Model for Teacher Clarity, Feedback and Self-Efficacy in the Classroom

Abstract

The meta-analytic evidence aligning aspects of instruction and critical individual differences with student achievement continues to mount. Scant research effort has, however, been invested in connecting these findings to and through substantive theory which might drive both further research and enhance classroom practice. The current theoretically organising review aims to make connections, focusing on two elements of instruction (teacher clarity and feedback) and one individual difference (self-efficacy) which are each consistent top meta-analytic correlates of student achievement. The review begins by acknowledging Bandura’s longstanding suggestions regarding self-efficacy beliefs support and his model for self-efficacy beliefs in context (i.e. model of reciprocal determinism). These contributions, while important, fail to comprehensively address the plethora of educational affordances offered by formal education. This review points towards a parallel theory for explaining the development and sustenance of students’ ability beliefs (i.e. perceived control theory). Specifically, this review suggests that the related Self-System Model Motivational Development (SSMMD) is a more comprehensive means of explaining self-efficacy in classrooms. This model provides a theoretical mechanism for partially explaining the contribution of teacher clarity and feedback to student achievement, mediated by self-efficacy which will be treated as one specific type of perceived control. This review includes an adapted version of SSMMD for structuring research in this area and a detailed table for instructional implications arising from the connections suggested. This review concludes with two ‘recipe cards’, which provide clear directions for testing the updated model, and its mediated connections and outcomes.