Developing a Culturally Grounded Theoretical Framework for Science Teacher Efficacy in Multilingual Secondary Schools in Northern Nigeria

This study developed and validated a culturally grounded theoretical framework for understanding science teacher efficacy in multilingual secondary school contexts in Northern Nigeria. Existing teacher efficacy models are predominantly rooted in Western psychological frameworks and inadequately account for the cultural, linguistic, and socio-political complexities that characterise science teaching in Northern Nigerian schools. A multi-phase mixed-methods design was employed across four states: Kano, Kaduna, Borno, and Sokoto. Phase one involved in-depth interviews with 40 experienced Science teachers exploring efficacy sources and cultural influences. Phase two surveyed 600 Science teachers using a newly developed Cultural-Contextual Science Teacher Efficacy Scale informed by phase one findings. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling validated the four-factor structure of the framework. The theoretical model identified cultural alignment of content, language comfort, community trust, and institutional support as culturally specific efficacy constructs not captured by Bandura's general efficacy theory. Model fit was excellent (CFI 0.95, RMSEA 0.048). The framework makes an original theoretical contribution to the science education literature by centring Northern Nigerian contextual realities and recommends its adoption as the foundation for teacher professional development and efficacy research in culturally complex science education contexts. Keywords: teacher efficacy, theoretical framework, multilingual schools, Northern Nigeria, cultural grounding.