PRESCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SELF-EFFICACY IN TERMS OF MEETING THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS FOLLOWING A CRITICAL INCIDENT (The Example of Hurricane Katrina)

Hurricane Katrina highlighted teacher needs when serving students who have experienced a critical incident. The purpose of this single case study was to describe the perceptions of preschool teachers’ self-efficacy in terms of meeting the needs of students following a critical incident. These teachers had received into their classroom one or more students displaced by a critical incident, Hurricane Katrina. Specifically, using a survey with independent samples t test analysis, this study examined differences, by grade level, years of experience, and education level, in teacher perception of their addressing needs of displaced students. For the survey, a random sample was drawn from a single district population of K-5 teachers who had in class at least one student displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Results of the study indicated teachers with low self-efficacy were found to blame outside factors when things did not go as well as desired and no differences based on grade level taught or teacher educational level. However, teachers with fewer than five years of experience showed significantly less teacher self-efficacy. The findings contain implications for social change in that they demonstrated need for a plan to assist teachers in meeting the needs of critical incident students and a need to provide teachers with appropriate professional development.