A multilevel analysis of the relationship between teacher and collective efficacy in urban schools

Although a great deal of research has linked both teacher and collective ef ficacy to student achievement, one overlooked question concerns the nested association between teacher and collective efficacy. The authors apply soci al cognitive theory to offer a theoretical analysis of this relationship. N ext, using hierarchical linear modeling, they empirically test the strength of the relationship between these two theoretically related yet conceptual ly distinct constructs. Analysis of data collected from 438 teachers in 47 schools in a large urban school district shows that collective efficacy pre dicts variation in teacher efficacy above and beyond the variance explained by a number of school contextual factors including socioeconomic status an d student achievement. The implications of these findings for future resear ch are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.