Collective Teacher Efficacy as a Catalyst for Student Achievement in Malaysian Secondary Schools

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE), defined as the shared belief of a school’s teaching staff that they can collectively organise and execute the actions required to positively influence student learning, has emerged as one of the most powerful school-level correlates of student achievement in contemporary educational research. Despite compelling international evidence, CTE remains under-theorised and under-researched in the Malaysian secondary school context, where persistent achievement gaps, uneven school performance, and post-pandemic learning loss continue to challenge national education aspirations. This concept paper critically reviews the theoretical foundations, empirical evidence, and enabling conditions of CTE and positions it as a catalyst for student achievement in Malaysian secondary schools. Drawing on Bandura’s social cognitive theory and an integrative synthesis of recent international and Malaysian scholarship, the paper argues that CTE operates through mastery experiences, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and affective states, and that its formation is moderated by the structural realities of Malaysian secondary schooling, including subject department organisation, academic streaming, and examination pressure. The paper proposes an integrative model linking leadership practices, collaborative structures, and contextual conditions to CTE and, in turn, to student achievement and equity outcomes, and distinguishes CTE from related constructs such as teacher self-efficacy, collective responsibility, and school climate. The discussion elaborates the mechanisms through which CTE translates into improved instructional quality, higher expectations, and greater teacher persistence; develops the Malaysian implementation gap in professional learning communities (PLCs) with reference to recent local evidence; offers concrete guidance for operationalising the paper’s four propositions in future empirical work; and provides an expanded critical reflection on cultural validity, measurement, and causality, including possible adaptations for the Malaysian context and department-level measurement of CTE. Implications for school leaders, teacher professional development, and Malaysian education policy are discussed in relation to the Malaysia Education Blueprint and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education).

collective teacher efficacy; student achievement; Malaysian secondary schools; school leadership; professional learning communities; subject departments

1. Adams, D., Cheah, K. S., Thien, L. M., & Md Yusoff, N. N. (2024). Leading schools through the COVID-19 crisis in a South-East Asian country. Management in Education, 38(2), 72–78. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Anderson, C. M., Summers, K. H., Kopatich, R. D., & Dwyer, W. B. (2023). Collective teacher efficacy and its enabling conditions: A proposed framework for influencing collective efficacy in schools. AERA Open, 9, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231175060 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117–148. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2802_3 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Bellibaş, M. Ş., Gümüş, S., & Liu, Y. (2021). Does school leadership matter for teachers’ classroom practice? The influence of instructional leadership and distributed leadership on instructional quality. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 32(3), 387–412. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2020.1858119 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Bellibaş, M. Ş., Polatcan, M., & Alzouebi, K. (2025). Instructional leadership and student achievement across UAE schools: Mediating role of professional development and cognitive activation in teaching. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. Advance online publication. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432241305702 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Bellibaş, M. Ş., Polatcan, M., & Kılınç, A. Ç. (2022). Linking instructional leadership to teacher practices: The mediating effect of shared practice and agency in learning effectiveness. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 50(5), 812–831. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Donohoo, J. (2017). Collective efficacy: How educators’ beliefs impact student learning. Corwin Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Donohoo, J., Hattie, J., & Eells, R. (2018). The power of collective efficacy. Educational Leadership, 75(6), 40–44. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Đuranović, M., Klasnić, I., & Vidić, T. (2024). Principal support and teacher self-efficacy as predictors of collective teacher efficacy. European Journal of Educational Research, 13(2), 693–703. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.13.2.693 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Eells, R. J. (2011). Meta-analysis of the relationship between collective teacher efficacy and student achievement [Doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago]. Loyola eCommons. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Gandimathi, A., & Zarei, N. (2018). The impact of critical thinking on learning English language. Asian Journal of Social Science Research, 1(2), 25–35. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Hoy, A. W. (2004). Collective efficacy beliefs: Theoretical developments, empirical evidence, and future directions. Educational Researcher, 33(3), 3–13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033003003 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2000). Collective teacher efficacy: Its meaning, measure, and impact on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(2), 479–507. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037002479 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Gümüş, E., & Bellibaş, M. Ş. (2023). The relationship between the types of professional development activities teachers participate in and their self-efficacy: A multi-country analysis. European Journal of Teacher Education, 46(1), 67–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1892639 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Gümüş, S., Bellibaş, M. Ş., & Pietsch, M. (2022). School leadership and achievement gaps based on socioeconomic status: A search for socially just instructional leadership. Journal of Educational Administration, 60(4), 419–438. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Hao, S., Yu, D., & Fu, L. (2024). Organizational climate of kindergartens and teacher professional learning: Mediating effect of teachers’ collective efficacy and moderating effect of mindfulness in teaching. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1287703. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1287703 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Hattie, J. (2023). Visible learning: The sequel. A synthesis of over 2,100 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Hoy, W. K., Sweetland, S. R., & Smith, P. A. (2002). Toward an organizational model of achievement in high schools: The significance of collective efficacy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 38(1), 77–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X02381004 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Jailani, M. A., Yusooff, F., Wong, H. S., & Wan Abas, W. M. U. (2025). A comparative analysis of counselling needs among urban and rural secondary school students in the post-COVID-19 period (July 2022–June 2024): Implications for school counselling services. Asian Journal of Social Science Research, 7(1), 40–53. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15803339 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Kajiita, R. M., & Murote, S. (2025). Social work and artificial intelligence: Implications for South African social work practice and education. Asian Journal of Social Science Research, 7(1), 1–19. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15803208 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Kamal, T., & Illiyan, A. (2021). School teachers’ perception and challenges towards online teaching during COVID-19 pandemic in India: An econometric analysis. Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, 16(3), 311–325. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Kandemir, A. (2024). The mediating role of school effectiveness in the relationship between transformational leadership and workplace exclusion. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1475156. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1475156 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Karacabey, M. F., Bellibaş, M. Ş., & Adams, D. (2022). Principal leadership and teacher professional learning in Turkish schools: Examining the mediating effects of collective teacher efficacy and teacher trust. Educational Studies, 48(2), 253–272. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Lee, V. E., & Smith, J. B. (1996). Collective responsibility for learning and its effects on gains in achievement for early secondary school students. American Journal of Education, 104(2), 103–147. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Loughland, T., & Ryan, M. (2022). Beyond the measures: The antecedents of teacher collective efficacy in professional learning. Professional Development in Education, 48(2), 343–352. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2020.1711801 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025 (Preschool to post-secondary education). Ministry of Education Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. OECD. (2023). PISA 2022 results (Volume I): The state of learning and equity in education. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Panigrahi, M. R., & Todi, K. L. (2026). Effectiveness of online learning strategies as perceived by teachers and students of senior secondary schools. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 52(5), 269–282. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Ross, J. A., & Gray, P. (2006). School leadership and student achievement: The mediating effects of teacher beliefs. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(3), 798–822. https://doi.org/10.2307/20054196 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Shao, Y., Jiang, W., Wang, N., Zhang, C., Zhang, L., & Sarker, M. F. H. (2025). The impact of authentic leadership on the work engagement of primary and secondary school teachers: The serial mediation role of school climate and teacher efficacy. PLOS ONE, 20(5), e0320839. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320839 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Singh, N., & Loh, S. C. (2024). Professional learning communities and trust in colleagues as determinants of collective teacher efficacy in Malaysian primary schools: An SEM analysis. Education 3–13, 54(2), 301–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2305867 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Thien, L. M., & Adams, D. (2024). Investigating the relationships between principal instructional leadership and teachers’ affective commitment through collective teacher efficacy in Malaysian rural and urban primary schools. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Management, 12(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.22452/mojem.vol12no2.1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Thien, L. M., Darmawan, I. N., & Adams, D. (2023). (Re)investigating the pathways between instructional leadership, collective teacher efficacy, and teacher commitment: A multilevel analysis. International Journal of Educational Management, 37(4), 830–845. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-12-2022-0516 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Thien, L. M., Lim, S. Y., & Adams, D. (2024). The evolving dynamics between instructional leadership, collective teacher efficacy, and dimensions of teacher commitment: What can Chinese independent high schools tell us? International Journal of Leadership in Education, 27(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1913236 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Thien, L. M., & Liu, P. (2024). Linear and nonlinear relationships between instructional leadership and teacher professional learning through teacher self-efficacy as a mediator: A partial least squares analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Thien, L. M., Liu, S., Yee, L. Q., & Adams, D. (2023). Investigating a multiple mediated-effects model of instructional leadership and teacher professional learning in the Malaysian school context: A partial least squares analysis. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 51(4), 809–830. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Thien, L. M., & Yeap, S. B. (2023). Configuring effects of learning-centred leadership in promoting teacher professional learning and teacher self-efficacy. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432231211431 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Tschannen-Moran, M., & Barr, M. (2004). Fostering student learning: The relationship of collective teacher efficacy and student achievement. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 3(3), 189–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700760490503706 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. UNESCO. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education. UNESCO Publishing. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Verstraeten, J., van Dongen-Leunis, A., Scheepers, R., Nederhand, M. L., de Koning, B. B., & van Deen, W. K. (2025). Teachers’ perceptions about online teaching: Analysis of their experiences and opportunities for knowledge sharing. Computers and Education Open. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Wang, S., Sun, Z., & Chen, Y. (2023). Effects of higher education institutes’ artificial intelligence capability on students’ self-efficacy, creativity and learning performance. Education and Information Technologies, 28(5), 4919–4939. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Yeap, S. B., & Md Ali, N. J. (2025). Empowering professional learning communities: The role of middle leadership and teacher participation in decision-making. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 14(5), 3461–3468. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v14i5.34392 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. Zhang, F. (2022). Toward the impact of job satisfaction and collective efficacy on EFL teachers’ professional commitment. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 938125. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

52. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.938125 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study