WORKING TOGETHER - PERCEIVED SELF-EFFICACY AND COLLECTIVE-EFFICACY ATTHE WORKPLACE

Collective efficacy is the extension of Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy concept to groups (Bandura, 1982, 1986). Self-efficacy refers to judg ments that people make about their personal or individual competency. Collective efficacy concerns judgments that people make about a group' s level of competency. This paper contributes to the theory and measur ement of collective efficacy and to an understanding of its relationsh ip to self-efficacy and performance. Elementary school teachers' colle ctive- and self-efficacy were measured. The academic domain is well su ited to the study of collective-efficacy because the organizational un its (schools) all perform the same function (education). The findings supported the hypothesis that, in at least some domains, self-efficacy and collective-efficacy are related but independent constructs. As hy pothesized, it was also found that the socioeconomic composition of a school's student body, was a strong predictor of teachers' collective- efficacy. Although teachers' collective-efficacy was associated with s chool level achievement, this relationship was no longer significant w hen prior achievement levels were controlled. It was suggested that fu ture research should examine individual behaviors, attitudes, and beli efs that might serve as mediators between efficacy and performance. It was also suggested that the relationship between collective efficacy and organizational culture should be explored.