Teachers’ Intrinsic Orientation, Self-Efficacy, Background Characteristics, and Effective Teaching: A Multilevel Moderated Mediation Modeling

Teachers’ intrinsic orientation for the profession (TIOP) refers to a compound trait derived from the meaningfulness and positive affect teachers attribute to the profession. It can be validly measured by three conceptually correlated yet empirically separable factors of autonomous motivation, enthusiasm for teaching, and enthusiasm for the subject. Grounded in the previous findings of non-significant direct relationships between TIOP and effective teaching, the present study further tested the hypothesized indirect relationships between the two constructs. To better understand the underlying relational mechanisms, the potential mediating role of self-efficacy and the moderating effects of both teacher- and school-level background factors were addressed in single- and multi-level models. A total of 239 beginning teachers from 32 Dutch secondary schools responded to the questionnaires at the beginning of the first career year. Actual teaching behaviour was observed by means of classroom observations. The results of lower-level mediation analysis confirm the mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between TIOP and activating teaching behaviour at career entry. The results of single- and cross-level moderated mediation analysis show that self-efficacy significantly mediates the links between TIOP and three specific teaching behaviour domains: providing safe and stimulating learning climate, classroom management, and clarity of instruction. These effects were respectively moderated by teachers’ qualification, age, and gender. The present study makes a unique contribution to understanding the importance of TIOP for beginning teachers’ well-being and effective teaching, providing insights for both teacher educators and mentors.