EFL Instructors' Self-efficacy as Predictor of Students' Learning Outcomes: An Exploratory Study at Shaqra University

This quantitative study explores the relationship between Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors' self-efficacy beliefs and their teaching practices. A sample of 12 EFL instructors from Shaqra University participated in the study, completing questionnaires that assessed their self-efficacy beliefs and current teaching practices. The results indicate a significant correlation between instructors' overall self-efficacy beliefs and the use of student-centered teaching practices that enhance EFL interaction. Further analysis was conducted on the three sub-dimensions of instructors’ self-efficacy, namely instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management. These sub-dimensions served as predictors of instructors' self-efficacy, suggesting that instructors with higher self-efficacy beliefs were more likely to employ effective instructional strategies, promote student engagement, and effectively manage their classrooms. Importantly, the study also identified a reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and teaching practices; instructors' accumulated experience with specific instructional strategies, student engagement techniques, and classroom management both influenced and were influenced by their self-efficacy beliefs.