The impact of gender and race on non-native EFL teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs: A case study of a multicultural educational environment

In the past few decades, educational researchers have given the concept of teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs great attention. Researchers have argued that teachers’ beliefs about their teaching capabilities have an immediate impact upon their teaching effectiveness. This concept is particularly important in the field of English as a Foreign Language teaching (EFL) where the ‘native/nonnative’ debate seems to be ongoing and the question of ‘who teaches English better’ is still being asked. This study was investigative in nature. It aimed to measure the self-efficacy beliefs of nonnative EFL teachers in a higher education institution in Oman. It also aimed to investigate the influence of two teacher characteristics gender and race on the teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. Thirty-three participants belonging to 11 racial groups completed the Teachers’ Efficacy Beliefs System-Self (TEBS-S) survey developed by Dellinger, Bobbett, Olivier and Ellett (2008). The study used descriptive and inferential analytical methods. Results showed that the self-efficacy beliefs of nonnative teachers are strong. Furthermore, it was shown that gender does not correlate with teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs unlike race which partially influences teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. The present study has implications for EFL teacher preparation programs and the higher education institutions in which nonnative EFL teachers are employed.