Pre-service teachers’ empathy and attitudes toward inclusive education—The chain mediating role of teaching motivation and inclusive education efficacy

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321066 April 29, 2025 4 / 18 the teaching profession [26] and a critical factor in educational settings [24]. It can increase teachers’ understanding and appreciation of the situation of particular groups [27], which in turn influences teachers’ attitudes toward special groups [28] and, ultimately, their attitudes toward inclusive education. Furthermore, it has been stated that empathy affects teach- ers’ willingness and teaching motivation [29], subsequently affecting their attitudes towards children with special needs and inclusive education [30]. Based on these arguments, this study proposed the below hypothesis: H1: Empathy has a positive effect on attitudes toward inclusive education. Teaching motivation as a mediator between empathy and attitudes toward inclusive education Teaching motivation is an intrinsic drive for individuals to engage in education, and people with high levels of empathy are more likely to be motivated to engage in education, leading them to be more engaged and passionate about their work [29]. To a certain extent, it can predict teachers’ enthusiasm for the profession and their tendency to improve their professionalism [31]. Teaching motivation includes two dimensions: professional love (PL) and educational interest (EI). Although teaching motivation depends to some extent on personal and background factors [32], among others, research has suggested that empathy, as a personality trait, changes with individual motivation in specific contexts [33]. Recently,

studies found that teacher empathy predicts teacher motivation levels [34]. Teaching motivation is an intrinsic drive for individuals to engage in education, and pre-service teachers with high levels of empathy tend to be more motivated to engage in education, prompting them to become more engaged and passionate about it. This is because empathy makes pre-service teachers more concerned about the feelings of students and willing to help special needs students grow. Additionally, as education necessitates establishing an emotional bond with people and comprehending the needs and feelings of students, a person’s willingness to teach itself can also add to their capacity for empathy. Thus, high levels of empathy can stimulate strong teaching motivation. Nevertheless, research demonstrated that motivation contributes to understanding the formation and change of attitudes and is necessary to stimulate or change attitudes [35]. In light of that, it stands to reason that pre-service teachers who are highly motivated to teach will be more positive about their career and the inclusion of special needs students (Groups of students with special educational needs) in regular classrooms. They will also be more willing to practise their profession freely and make significant efforts to raise the standard of education. Based on the foregoing argument, it is hypothesized that: H2: Empathy has a positive effect on teaching motivation. H3: Teaching motivation has a positive effect on attitudes toward inclusive education.

H4: Teaching motivation will mediate the relationship between empathy and attitudes toward inclusive education. Empathy, inclusive education efficacy, and attitudes toward inclusive education Inclusive education efficacy may mediate the relationship between empathy and attitudes toward inclusive education. Inclusive education efficacy refers to teachers’ subjective assumptions about their ability to successfully implement inclusive education practices in the context of inclusive education, which includes three dimensions: inclusive teaching efficacy (ITE), collaborative efficacy (CE), and behavior management efficacy (BME) [36]. According to Goleman and Intelligence (1995), the classical theoretical model indicates that emotions are critical constructs related to attitudes [37], and self-efficacy and empathy are two internal elements of social emotions [38]. Previous research has noticed that these two psycho-emotional structures not only play an essential role in the development of teaching effectiveness but also influence teachers’ attitudes toward their students and various dimensions of the educational profession. In addition to positive occupational attitudes, teachers should have socio-emotional competencies to carry out their duties effectively. It was found that among psychosocial competencies, empathy enhances self-efficacy [39], and there is a significant positive