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48 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators

perform the behavior. The stronger the intention, the more likely the individual is to
perform the behavior (Ajzen, 1991). In order to explain differences in behavior, one must
trace these variables back to the individual’s underlying behavioral and normative beliefs
(Ajzen, 1985). Teachers’ intentions in the study were what motivated the teachers to teach
the way they did—their instructional practices. The teacher’s normative and behavioral
beliefs drove this intention.
Perceived behavioral control is an individual’s perception of the ease or difficulty of
performing the behavior of interest, which varies across situations and actions (Ajzen,
1991). Individuals will attempt a new behavior if they foresee success and believe their
peers would be pleased. Perceived behavioral control is the difference between the theory
of reasoned action and Fishbein and Ajzen’s (2005) theory of planned behavior and one
reason the researcher chose the theory of planned behavior as the framework for this study.
Perceived behavioral control indicates the relationship among beliefs, attitude, intentions,
and behavior. In other words, perceived behavioral control plus behavioral intention
directly predicts behavioral achievement and can be used as a substitute for a measure of
actual control, depending on the accuracy of the individual’s perceptions (Ajzen, 1991).
Adult learners need their learning to be relevant, and they want to have some control over
what and how they learn (Aguilar, 2013). In this study, teachers’ perceived behavior control
was their sense of how easy or difficult they believed the change would be. If they foresaw
success and believed peers would be pleased with their behaviors of self-reflection and
strengthening practices, then their perceived behavior control was greater.
Ajzen (2001) noted, “Attitudes are relevant for understanding and predicting social
behavior” (p. 48). Attitude toward the behavior is the degree to which an individual has
a favorable or unfavorable appraisal of the behavior in question. In the case of this study,
attitude was the degree to which the teacher thought that self-reflection and strengthening
of practice were favorable or not. The subjective norm is the perceived social pressure to
perform or not perform the behavior. School culture and the perception of social pressure
to self-reflect and strengthen practice formed the subjective norm of teachers in this study.
Ajzen argued, “The more favorable the attitude and subjective norm with respect to the
behavior and the greater the PBC (perceived behavior control), the stronger should be
an individual’s motivation to perform the behavior under consideration” (1991, p. 88).
The importance of attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control vary across
subjective norms and beliefs, and, depending on the situation or individual, one or more of
these factors will have a significant impact on intentions, with the combination leading to
the formation of a behavior intention (Ajzen, 1991).
Ajzen (1991) suggested, “Behavior is the function of salient information or beliefs
relevant to the behavior” (p. 189). Salient beliefs fall into three categories: behavioral,
normative, and control. Behavioral beliefs are assumed to influence attitudes toward the
behavior. Normative beliefs are the underlying determinants of subjective norms. Control
beliefs provide a basis for perception of behavioral control. Teachers’ behavior in this study
was their willingness to engage in self-reflection and strengthening of practices. Fishbein
and Ajzen (2005) indicated, “Interventions based on the theory of planned behavior are
primarily directed at individuals who do not currently intend to perform the desired target
behavior” (p. 3). One reason the researcher decided to utilize the theory of planned behavior
as a framework was because this assertion. The researcher did not choose cognitive behavior
therapy because this theory helps people carry out previously formed intentions. Cognitive
behavior therapy did not lend itself to the study because if teachers had intended to carry
out the desired behavior they would have done so initially with no need for intervention,