ABSTRACT
The author talks about Albert Bandura, as his theories provide us with a useable template for the confident teacher. Albert spent much of his professional life defining his theory of self-efficacy. It is this theory that is instructive for teachers of all ages and stages. Teachers face major obstacles to develop their confidence and expertise. These include: student misbehaviour, a damaging observation culture and scarcity of time. Yet, these obstacles can, and are, overcome daily by many teachers. The teacher confidence is more concrete and more specific than self-esteem; it is much easier to develop. Confidence in us is the solid keystone for our confidence in our students and their capacity to succeed. Even when we think we can succeed we often fail, but possessing an authentic confidence can better sustain us through such failure and give us the necessary fuel for self-improvement.
