We can do this!: What Collective Efficacy Looks Like in a School
- Dr. Nicole Forrest
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Table of Contents
Have you ever left a meeting with colleagues and felt like, Yes, we can do this! And not just as individuals, but together?
That’s collective efficacy.
It’s more than team spirit or collaboration. Collective efficacy is the shared belief among individuals that together, through their combined effort, they can positively influence their school even when challenges feel overwhelming.
By committing to collective efficacy, you will be less likely to adopt a victim mentality, which can be debilitating to any individual and community. Now, it might not be easy to shift from an individualistic culture to a collective one, but with time, commitment, and gradual shifts, your school can get there.
And collective efficacy is well worth it.
Collective efficacy can be the game-changer for schools overwhelmed by external factors outside of their control.
It moves schools from pockets of excellence to systemic powerhouses. It’s also what fuels innovation, increases resilience, and sustains the belief that every child can grow, not because I know what to do, but we know what to do.
In this week’s post, I’ll explore some of the abundant research supporting the belief that collective efficacy can shift student outcomes. Then, I’ll provide some suggested changes your school can make to start moving the needle in the right direction.
The Research Behind Collective Efficacy
Collective efficacy is not just wishful thinking. It is grounded in Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory, which suggests that people are more likely to take action and persevere when they feel confident in their ability to produce results. In schools, this means educators take instructional risks, persist with struggling students, and collaborate instead of isolating.
Only through a combined effort and true commitment where all educators feel they have each other's backs can collective efficacy work. And work it does….
Dr. John Hattie (2018) ranks collective teacher efficacy as the most powerful influence on student achievement, with an effect size of 1.57 - well above the hinge point of 0.4 that indicates significant impact.
Collective efficacy even predicted differences in student achievement after controlling for socioeconomic status (Goddard et al., 2004). This matters. It means that belief in our shared capacity as educators can counteract the effects of poverty and other barriers.
Healthy collaboration can bring joy and build momentum toward encouraging staff to believe in each other and their abilities to shape and impact their schools.
In essence, when teachers believe they can make a difference together, they do. It is getting to this belief that can be a challenge, especially when there may be pockets of naysayers trying to undermine an organization, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Collective efficacy can be the game-changer for schools overwhelmed by external factors outside of their control.
When we invest in time to learn together, when we celebrate growth over perfection, and when we treat every student as our student, we cultivate a sense of efficacy that isn’t just theoretical but transformational.
4 Practices to Build Collective Efficacy (Every Day)
There is value in working together as a team. Healthy collaboration can bring joy and build momentum toward encouraging staff to believe in each other and their abilities to shape and impact their schools.
Talk about empowerment and accountability - collective efficacy is the way to go if you truly want to make gains in your school. Here are four practices you can start in your building this school year:
1. Make learning public
A step in the right direction with changing your culture to a collaborative one, immersed in the belief of collective efficacy, is providing opportunities to make learning public.
What this might look like is:
During a staff meeting, a veteran teacher listens closely as a first-year colleague shares a strategy that worked for a student in crisis. The conversation doesn’t end with “good idea” but ends with “let’s try that building-wide.”
In a PLC, a fourth-grade team looks at data and says, “Let’s try this new small-group structure next week.” There’s no blame when scores are low - just curiosity and shared responsibility.
In peer observations, colleagues highlight the success of another teacher to share and build upon that strength.
We are not competing with one another. We are not grandstanding. We are not doubting or undermining others. We are leaning into each other’s expertise and being vulnerable to learn and take risks.
Invite teams to share what’s working in their classrooms, even if it’s messy or not quite there yet. Normalizing learning from each other will shift your culture toward collective efficacy.
2. Shift from blame to build
When the kitchen gets heated and you're in the weeds, you can either lean on one another to claw your way through or succumb to the pressure and crumble.
Blame is similar. We can either begin the finger-pointing to avoid our part in the struggle or forget the blame and look to build something better.
When a behavior support plan or an intervention doesn’t work, no one says, “That student doesn’t belong here.” Instead, they say, “What else can we try together?” We build on our collective knowledge to create the best educational experiences for our students.
When things don’t go as planned, model language like, “What might we tweak next time?” or “What support do we need?” The minute you begin blaming or making excuses is the minute your culture moves away from collective efficacy.
Collective efficacy doesn’t mean we always agree because that wouldn’t be healthy either. It means we always believe.
3. Center the student, not the adult
Collective efficacy thrives when the focus stays on what students need, not what feels most comfortable for us. This is one of the hardest shifts, especially if your culture has mainly focused on ensuring the adults are happy.
This doesn’t mean we do not value how the adults feel, quite the opposite. All adults in the building value students above all else, and students’ needs drive our decisions.
Instead of trying to gain sympathy for a challenging moment in a conversation, educators discuss what they learned from a tough moment with a student and not what they lost. We then use that set back as a way to become and do better.
4. Celebrate team wins
To keep the momentum going with anything, there have to be celebrations for the team's wins.
Growth data, family engagement success, student breakthroughs, educator learning, and everything and anything else —when these moments are celebrated collectively, everyone feels invested.
So make space for these celebrations in meetings, newsletters, morning announcements, or email. Let the celebration train chug through the station. 🎉 🥳🚂
One Last Thought
Collective efficacy doesn’t mean we always agree because that wouldn’t be healthy either. It means we always believe.
We believe that together, we are more powerful than any curriculum, mandate, or obstacle. We believe in each other. We believe we will not be victims.
That belief shows up in small, intentional moments. In the way we plan, problem-solve, and persist. And when students feel that kind of energy from the adults in the building? They rise too.
Let’s keep showing up for one another because when educators believe in us, students believe in themselves.
References
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman.
Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2004). Collective efficacy beliefs: Theoretical developments, empirical evidence, and future directions. Educational Researcher, 33(3), 3–13. [https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033003003](https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033003003)
Hattie, J. (2018). Visible learning: Feedback. Routledge.
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