Enhancing Inclusive Teaching in China: Examining the Effects of Principal Transformational Leadership, Teachers’ Inclusive Role Identity, and Efficacy

Abstract

This research examined the effects of principal transformational leadership on teachers’ inclusive teaching behaviour, with a particular inquiry into the mediating effects of teachers’ inclusive role identity and efficacy for inclusive practice, as informed by identity theory and social cognitive theory. Structural equation modelling with bootstrapping estimation was conducted using data from 712 teachers delivering inclusive teaching in primary or secondary schools in China. The results revealed the sequentially mediating mechanisms of teachers’ inclusive role identity and efficacy underlying the principal transformational leadership effects on teachers’ inclusive teaching behaviour. Research implications are also discussed.

Keywords

• inclusive education
• transformational leadership
• inclusive role identity
• teacher efficacy
• inclusive teaching behaviour