Reflective Practice and Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Pre-Service Teachers: The Complexity of Sudden Onlineness

Abstract

Pre-service teachers' self-efficacy growth utilizing reflective practice, particularly amidst sudden onlineness, seems not to have been well studied within the Indonesian English as a foreign language context. As in-service teachers need to have some self-efficacy when facing such unprecedented changes, it is essential that reflective practice and self-efficacy be strengthened earlier during pre-service teacher preparation and continued through ongoing professional development. Under intensive supervision, pre-service teachers receive crucial principled teaching foundations designed to help teachers face the possible complexity of responsibilities in-service. This study examines the contribution of critical reflection to the development of pedagogy and personality self-efficacy, while shedding light on the specific areas of improvement to be addressed by the pre-service teachers . The study involved 35 PSTs from a private university enrolled in a micro-teaching course and employed triangulation data collection of reflections and questionnaires concentrating on both efficacies. Interviews were used as verification instruments. The findings indicated that more than 75% pre-service teachers were positioned adequate to high in both efficacies. In the pedagogical dimension, critical reflection encouraged self-efficacy development throughout the implementation of micro-teaching skills, with the use of codeswitching and/or codemixing the instructional language and the integration of technology. The complexity of the practicum shift to an online mode has stimulated pre-service teachers to elaborate an intelligibility-based approach to teaching, leaving the English-only philosophy for accuracy. In the personality dimension, despite the awkward feeling due to sudden onlineness for practicum, the participants attained high self-efficacy from extraversion and conscientiousness. Substantial use of technology and self-confidence were two areas for improvement from both dimensions although they were minor in comparison to the overall self-efficacy. The significance of the findings is discussed in light of teacher training programs and self-efficacy development.