Teaching for Agency: The Power of Self-Efficacy in the Classroom with Dr Neil Gilbride, Mind the Gap, Ep.95 (S5,E11)

On this episode of Mind the Gap, Jon Hutchinson is joined by educator, researcher, and author Neil Gilbride to explore the powerful concept of self-efficacy—and why it matters now more than ever in schools. Drawing from his new book, Neil delves into the psychological foundations of self-efficacy, its relationship to agency, and the practical ways it can transform classroom practice. He shares insights from his own diverse career, from play schemes to academia, and explains how educators can help pupils—and themselves—navigate complexity, build resilience, and believe in their capacity to succeed. Together, Jon and Neil discuss Bandura’s legacy, the critical importance of managing failure, and why effective modelling is about more than just showing how—it’s about lending belief. “If we’re not proactively thinking hard about using our capacity to share knowledge and ways of being and working,” Neil says, “then we're not using one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal.” This episode offers a compelling and deeply human lens on what it means to teach, lead, and learn in today’s education landscape.

Dr Neil Gilbride CPSychol is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University of Worcester and Associate Dean at Ambition Institute, one of the largest professional development providers in England. He has amassed 20 years of experience working across education as an academic, practitioner and knowledge mobiliser. Neil’s research interweaves adult developmental psychology and complexity theory to better understand educational leadership and practitioner development. His most recent book is Bandura's Self-Efficacy Theory in Action. Follow him on Bluesky @neilgilbride.bsky.social

Jon Hutchinson is a former assistant headteacher of Reach Academy Feltham and is now a Director at the Reach Foundation. He has taught across primary and secondary and HE. In his spare time, Jon runs ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.meno.acacdemy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a platform with free videos to support primary teachers to build their subject knowledge. Follow Jon on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jon_hutchinson_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or Bluesky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jonhutchinson.bksy.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is produced by Haringey Education Partnership. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://haringeyeducationpartnership.co.uk/