Purpose: Drawing on Bandura's social cognitive theory, the present study examines the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and student misbehaviour, while exploring the moderating effects of teacher gender using gender schema theory. Design/methodology/approach: The structural equation modelling examined the study model. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires from 464 teachers in secondary schools in Sri Lanka. Findings: The results revealed that teachers' self-efficacy in overall teaching negatively correlated with student misbehaviour. Teacher gender had no moderating effects, implying an indistinct patriarchal influence on which the hypothesis was based. Practical implications: The present study offers suggestions and practical recommendations in the areas of classroom management, school leadership, teacher education, and education administration on ways to enhance teachers' self-efficacy, particularly their self-efficacy in managing students' problematic behaviours. The findings of the study may also imply that the patriarchal dominance in Sri Lankan households may be waning. Originality/value: This research is the first ever to apply gender schema theory to explore the moderating effects of gender in the self-efficacy-student misbehaviour relationship.