Exchanging social support on online teacher groups: Relation to teacher self-efficacy

The present study explored the relation between exchanging social support on online teacher groups and teacher self-efficacy. An online survey was conducted inside a massive Facebook teacher group, and 584 elementary school teachers provided information regarding Facebook use, self-efficacy for creative teaching, and the extent to which they provided and received support on the online teacher group. Results showed that teacher self-efficacy varied as a function of years of teaching experience, length of group membership, and the extent to which teachers provided and received social support on the online teacher group. Furthermore, the providing of online support predicted teacher self-efficacy after taking into account the effects of teaching experience and group membership. The findings are discussed in terms of the features and importance of social support exchange on online teacher support groups.