Enhancing Autonomous Work Motivation and Engagement for Diverse Teaching Styles Among Chinese Inclusive Education Teachers

Abstract

High-quality teaching is vital for accommodating the individualised learning needs of diverse students. However, compared with specific explicit teaching practices, teaching styles that determine their use of teaching methods have received much less attention. This study investigated the contributions of inclusive education teachers' work motivation to their teaching styles and the mediating role of work engagement. A total of 515 teachers from inclusive primary schools in Guangzhou, China, participated in this study. Results showed that autonomous motivation positively predicted creativity-generating (Type I) teaching styles and that controlled motivation positively predicted norm-favouring (Type II) styles—beyond teachers' gender, age, length of teaching and in-service training. The absorption dimension of work engagement mediated autonomous motivation's positive prediction for Type I styles, and it activated that for Type II styles. It was concluded that autonomous work motivation and absorption are the keys to cultivating teachers' diverse teaching styles in the inclusive education context. Theoretical contributions, practical implications and limitations of the study are discussed.