1. D E F I N I N G O U R T E R M S
Efficiency, Effectiveness and
Efficacy

2. Effectiveness
 The extent to which something achieves pre-
specified goals
 ‘Does it work?’
 To understand teacher effectiveness, we need to
know what goals effective teachers should be
meeting
 Spend a few minutes with those around you trying to
create a list of ‘appropriate goals for
teachers/teaching’

3. Effectiveness
 To know whether teachers are effective, we would
need to have some means of measuring the extent to
which these goals are met
 What kind of evidence would be appropriate for
measuring teacher effectiveness in relation to each of
these goals?

4. Efficiency
 Efficiency is a measure of the amount of resources
required in order to meet the goals
 Something that can achieve the same goals using
fewer resources is more efficient
 If we have already specified the goals of
teachers/teaching, we can think about what
resources are used to meet those goals
 Spend a few moments with those around you
specifying the resources that go into classroom
teaching

5. Enhancing Efficiency
 Move to a new group – ideally with someone you
haven’t spoken to before – and spend a few minutes
discussing ways to enhance the efficiency of
classroom teaching
 How could you achieve the same goals – not inferior
goals – with fewer resources?

6. Efficacy
 Term has many meanings in different fields
 In education it relates to a teacher or student’s
confidence in his/her own ability to be effective
 Sometimes described as ‘self-efficacy’, and
distinguished from other people’s views about a
person’s ability to be effective
 We will use a device-based polling system to allow
you to share anonymous information about your self-
efficacy