Building multicultural teaching self-efficacy: Key factors of secondary teachers’ confidence in diverse classrooms

This study investigates key factors of multicultural teaching self-efficacy (MTSE) among U.S. secondary teachers using nationally representative data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Grounded in Bandura's social cognitive theory, we analyzed factors reflecting professional preparation, school climate, and teacher sociodemographics, using Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) logistic regression, a machine learning technique. Results revealed six significant factors associated with MTSE: perceived preparedness in multilingual and multicultural teaching through initial teacher education (ITE), language-specific training, pedagogy-focused professional development (PD), inclusive school practices, and teacher race/ethnicity and gender. Findings underscore the critical role of ITE in multicultural/multilingual education, with language-specific training making a distinct contribution to MTSE. Pedagogical PD and school-wide diversity-promoting practices were also related to MTSE. The results underscore the importance of a diverse teaching workforce and the value of leveraging teachers' lived experiences and identity-informed knowledge to enrich professional learning of all educators.