An Investigation into the Teachers’ Perceptions and Beliefs Regarding Contextual Factors on their Agency Regarding Teaching Efficacy of Teaching Biology

Abstract

This quantitative study has been conducted to investigate the teachers’ perceptions and beliefs in particular school context about his/her agentic role to teach Biology curriculum. For this purpose, there were 512 Biology teachers from high schools of 4 regions at Punjab based on diverse literacy rate were selected with the help of random sampling. A questionnaire for secondary school Biology teachers was developed, pilot tested by the researcher and validated by taking the experts’ opinion. The questionnaire consisted of 30 items addressing two factors including: School’s Professional Culture; Teacher’s Professional Problems; Curricular Objectives of School. The reliability was ascertained by calculating Cronbach Alpha which was .69. Then it was administered to the sample to collect the data from the sample. The collected data were analyzed with the help of Percentage scores in SPSS 22.0. This study revealed that contextual factors such as school culture, professional challenges, and curriculum priorities significantly shape teachers’ agency and efficacy in teaching Biology. Teachers often relied on traditional, exam-oriented methods due to workload pressures, limited recognition of innovation, and resource constraints. These findings highlight the need for supportive institutional policies that empower teachers to adopt more creative, student-centered approaches.