The authors present the results of research carried out in the 2017/2018 academic year among foreign languages teachers at eight higher education institutions. The aim of the study was to find out the connection between the participation activity rate of foreign languages teachers in specially focused network pedagogical communities and the level of professional self-realization through their self-efficacy. We used methods of mathematical statistics, computer data processing and discursive reflextion for drawing logical conclusions from experimental data. 267 foreign languages teachers from Ukrainian universities participated in the first stage of research. During the second stage, 108 selected foreign languages teachers completed a questionnaire for collecting data and evaluating the level of their self-efficacy. Results indicate a significant difference in the professional self-realization levels among the members and non-members of specially focused network communities and confirm the suggested hypothesis.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of Lesson Study on the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service kindergarten teachers. A quasi-experimental design with two parallel groups was used. The sample consisted of 49 students divided into a control group (27) and an experimental group (22). The pre-service kindergarten teachers in the experimental group followed an adjusted Lesson Study design, while the control group followed the traditional way of pre-service teaching practice. Findings indicate that there was no significant difference in teacher self-efficacy total scores between the groups, but there was a significant difference in the self-reported competence to effectively teach mathematics lessons and ability to get and keep pupils motivated.

Teachers, including physical education (PE) teachers, are at risk of burning out in their work. The consequences of this syndrome have a negative impact on the teacher themselves and on their students. Therefore it is very important to identify factors that may prevent its occurrence. Self-efficacy is considered one such factor. The aim of the study was to determine if self-efficacy specific to PE teachers is related to their burnout. The study was conducted using a survey method, with the use of the Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale [PETES] and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. A total of 401 PE teachers were surveyed. PE teachers turned out to be rather moderately burnt out, except for one dimension - a reduced sense of personal accomplishments - which in almost the whole sample reached high values. Regression analyses conducted for all three dimensions of burnout were significant, explaining from 4% up to 10% of the variance. The dimension of accomplishments was positively predicted by two kinds of self-efficacy: applying scientific knowledge in teaching PE, and teaching students with special needs. Emotional exhaustion was significantly and negatively predicted by assessment efficacy, and using technology efficacy, and positively by accommodating skill level differences of efficacy. Finally, depersonalization was negatively predicted by instructional efficacy.

Many professions have some identified features or performance rules that are considered characteristic of an expert. However the standards and expectations regarding teachers’ work might not have been clear to the majority of the teachers. The attributes that are demanded or expected from teachers are very diversified and span many fields of expertise. One of the reasons behind it may be the co-existence of multiple paradigms in the social sciences. Those paradigms cannot be applied simultaneously since the disparities between them are often insurmountable. Yet they define the role of a teacher and hence are crucial to the assertion of expertise in teaching. Therefore I come to the conclusion that understanding paradigms and their consequences for the role of a teacher may provide the necessary criteria of performance and a path to becoming an expert teacher. Without the knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts and the meaning of what it is that the teacher is trying to achieve through their performance, the teacher will not be able to work deliberately on their development or to critically reflect on it.

The paper aims to present theoretical and empirical research on investigating the optimization of university department management by preventing job burnout in university teaching staffwhich resulted in increasing their self-efficacy. The research sample was selected with the use of a non-random sampling technique. All foreign languages teachers invited agreed to take part in the study. To collect the empirical data from 205 foreign languages teachers a mixed methods approach was applied. The quantitative data were collected using the questionnaire on general self-efficacy created by R. Schwarzer and M. Jerusalem (1995) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (1996). The qualitative methods included observations and interviews. The obtained data were then analysed by means of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS software).The authors theoretically substantiated and practically demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed programme aimed at optimizing university department management by preventing job burnout in foreign language teachers.

Stress and anxiety experienced at school is negatively correlated with school achievements and mental health. Experiencing stress and anxiety is common for young people of school age from all over the world. Previous experiences have significant influence on children’s self-efficacy and their self-confidence. Students’ school experiences are the main subject of this text. This article presents results of longitudinal studies among children from primary school. In 2016 a questionnaire was distributed among children in 2ⁿd and 3rd grade (N=82). In 2019 the same survey was conducted among the same children in 4t and 5t grade (N=82). Aft er several years of education students declare higher levels of stress and anxiety and lower levels of self-confidence and beliefs in their abilities in situations when they are evaluated at the board. Results of the research disclose a disquieting tendency in school experience.

The study investigates the emotional costs experienced in the new workplace and general self-efficacy (GSE) as predictors of coping during the first period of reemployment. The study was conducted among 69 unemployed during professional internship. Questionnaires battery was administered in two waves (T1 and T2) within the first two weeks of this kind of reemployment and after 3 months. 35 respondents participated in T2. The results showed GSE and emotional costs as predictors of coping strategies using in the work re-entry phase. Further regression analysis showed a significant relationship between problem solving (T1) and GSE, and emotional costs (T2).

The primary goal of the study was to examine the relationships between spirituality, belief in free will and perceived self-efficacy among young adults. In order to develop the preliminary adaptation of the FAD-Plus questionnaire, used for measuring the lay beliefs in free will and three related constructs, Study 1 was carried out among 485 young adults. The tool had satisfactory psychometric properties. Study 2, in which 340 students participated, verified the role of believing in free will as a potential mediator between spirituality and perceived self-efficacy. In the case of male students, total mediation was found, and in the case of female students, partial mediation was noted. The studies indicate the need to put greater emphasis on the spiritual sphere and the sense of free will in the education provided for young adults.

The study presents a survey of perceived teacher self-efficacy on a sample of future and beginning Slovak secondary school teachers in two research approaches. The research aimed to find out the perceived professional proficiency of teacher students and future teachers in didactic readiness in the context of positive psychology. The obtained data from both groups were compared with foreign research results in this area.

The research focused on identifying differences in the sense of self-efficacy and self-regulation of stress among 470 students from Polish and Spanish universities and on determining the differences between students starting and finishing their studies. The following tests were used in the study: General Self-Efficacy Scale, COPE Inventory and Self-Regulatory Formative Questionnaire. Statistical analysis confirmed the correctness of the 6 hypotheses. The obtained results showed that the level of self-efficacy and self-regulation and the choice of coping strategies are related to gender, nationality, age, and multiple attitudes to a stressful situation. Moreover, other confirmed hypotheses show the conclusions that self-efficacy is higher in the group of men than in the group of women. On the other hand, women have higher self-regulatory skills and are more likely than men to choose favourable stress regulation methods. In contrast, the hypotheses about cross-cultural differences show that Spanish students have better self-regulatory skills and choose adaptive coping strategies, while Polish students use non-adaptive strategies.

The level of preparation of teachers before they enter the profession is an important factor affecting the level of culture of future generations and, consequently, the society as a whole. This preparation requires not only the proper implementation of the curriculum, but also the acquisition of self-efficacy skills. So far, the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers has been studied with respect to different variables. However, there is a lack of satisfactory comparative research among students from Poland and Slovakia, the countries of slightly different approach to preparation of pre-service teachers. To fill this gap, a comparative study of 355 Polish and 198 Slovakian university students was conducted using Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale. The purpose of the research was to determine which variables, including the country (Poland, Slovakia), course, form, year of study and participation in the field experience correlate significantly with the sense of efficacy of pre-service teachers. The obtained results indicate a satisfactory consistency between the Polish and the Slovakian version of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale. The research revealed a significantly higher self-evaluation among Polish university students and students of early childhood education. Part-time students with field experience evaluated themselves higher than full time students. The results emphasize that it is important to place high demands on future teachers and create appropriate conditions to improve their teaching and self-evaluative abilities.

This study was done with the aim of investigating the factors affecting the selfefficacy of human resources in educational organizations. The research population, composed of all the administrators of educational units in Karaj, in the school year of 2010–2011, amounted to 750 participants. The sample included 254 subjects, selected according to stratified random sampling on the basis of Morgan’s table for determining the sample size. The data collection tool was a questionnaire prepared by the researcher himself and its validity was confirmed by 30 experts, and its reliability was calculated on the basis of Cronbach’s Alpha and was 0/86. The obtained results of data analysis reveals that there is a significant and meaningful relationship between emotional states and physical development, the use of verbal or social inducements, the use of an alternative experience, and an emphasis on successful experiences of human resources in educational organizations, and their efficacy.

Social competence is one of the basic key competencies of educational leaders, where the research aimed at targeted facilitation is absent. Thus, the study aims to verify the changes in the development of social competence and coping self-efficacy of future educational leaders within two courses (one-term course at university vs. one-year course at an educational non-profit institution) (university students of teaching branches: NUMB = 13; AMage = 27.8; SDage = 7.4; 29.4% men vs. participants of the educational institution: NNGO = 14; AMage = 38.6; SDage = 7.8; 21% men). The Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, CSES) assessed the overall level of coping self-efficacy and its four factors, and the Inventory of Social Competence (ISK – K) assessed four social competencies. Results showed a significant increase of low practical significance over time (pretest vs. retest) in the level of social orientation (in ISK – K) and an increase of medium significance in overall self-efficacy and in the ability to use strategies focused on problems and unpleasant emotions and thoughts (in CSES) among university students. After completion of the course, NGO participants increased (with a low practical significance) their SK-K levels of offensiveness and self-control and their CSES self-efficacy and ability to use strategies focused on problems and unpleasant emotions and thoughts. There were no significant differences between overall levels in the two courses. The study offers possible implications of social competence facilitation in the context of educational leader formation at Slovak schools.