Self-efficacy and Work Motivation among Inclusive Education Teachers in China

This study was a pioneering attempt to determine the statistical effect of inclusive education teachers’ self-efficacy on their work motivation. Five hundred and thirty-four inclusive education teachers in Beijing, China, participated in the study through responding to two inventories: the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices Scale and the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale. Results suggested that age, experience in teaching students with special educational needs, training, and subject taught had statistical influence on teacher self-efficacy but not on work motivation. Teacher self-efficacy made a unique positive contribution to three of the four types of work motivation examined, with efficacy in using inclusive instructions, efficacy in collaboration, and efficacy in managing behaviour demonstrating the strongest predictive effect on introjected regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation, respectively. The findings enrich the literature on self-efficacy and on work motivation in an inclusive education context, and have practical implications concerning teacher preparation for inclusive education.