Beliefs about Children and Their Learning In contrast to the trend in educational research toward emphasizing best practices, researchers such as Bonnie Benard (2003) have found that teacher success begins at the deeper level of beliefs – specifically, beliefs about children. Benard found that successful teachers believe that “every child and youth has innate resilience, the capacity for healthy development and successful learning” (It All Starts With Beliefs section, para. 2). Similarly, a study by the U.S. Department of Education (Herman et al., 2008) found that successful turnaround schools employ staff who accept students as they come, hold the belief that all students can learn, and are committed to working with them to raise achievement. Benard’s (2003) study contains the following recommended strategies to change teachers’ beliefs when necessary: provide teachers with caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for participation/contribution; create opportunities for teachers to reflect on, discuss, and study personal resilience; and have them experiment with strengthsbased pedagogical approaches. Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy refers to belief in one’s own ability to do a job well, which may prompt a greater level of effort (Bandura, 1997). In the case of urban teachers, evidence suggests that self-efficacy is necessary for success. Linda Bryant and Wenfan Yan (2010) examined the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and adequate yearly progress (AYP) status for 894 teachers in a large urban district in the Northeastern U.S. They found that teachers in schools making AYP were more confident in their ability to produce student engagement and learning. They also found a significant difference between teachers in AYP and non-AYP schools with respect to their belief in their ability to develop good questions for students, gauge students’ comprehension of lessons, and manage the learning environment. Self-efficacy also correlates with teacher success related to parental involvement. For instance, a study of 100 urban teachers enrolled in a graduate program in South Florida found that teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs with respect to parental involvement correlated positively with the degree to which they exhibited parent involvement practices (Garcia, 2004). It is clear that teachers’ sense of self-efficacy is critical to their success in urban contexts. Problem-Solving Orientation Other researchers have noted that strong urban teachers have a problemsolving orientation to their work. Jorgelina Abbate-Vaughn (2010), for instance, found that urban teachers challenge stereotypes about students of color in poverty by considering their individual, complex life circumstances and helping facilitate solutions. Haberman’s (1995) investigation of STAR teachers of children in poverty characterized their mindset as one of constantly and proactively anticipating challenges, always saying to themselves, even while acting, “I wonder what I do next” (p. 24).
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