Unpacking the role of school climate factors in fostering teacher enjoyment and self-efficacy in higher education

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329001 August 13, 2025 10 / 17 a harmonious classroom environment, they may also lead to a more formalized and less emotionally engaging teacher- student relationship. This lack of emotional connection may, in turn, limit the extent to which teacher-student interactions influence teachers’ enjoyment of their work. At the meso level, the availability of school resources plays a crucial role in fostering teachers’ positive affect [106]. Previous studies showed that a lack of support and resources from school administrators can exacerbate teachers’ nega- tive emotions and stress, leading to burnout and compromising their well-being [107]. In contrast, our findings suggested that access to abundant educational materials enhances teachers’ positive emotions. This finding partially supports Collie et al.’s study, which emphasized the significance of contextual factors—such as adequate facilities, equipment, and resources—in shaping teachers’ emotional experiences and well-being [4]. Additionally, instructional innovation emerges as an important factor influencing teacher enjoyment—an area that has not been sufficiently explored in previous research. While existing studies have not explicitly examined this direct link, two established mechanisms have provided plausible theoretical support: First, teachers’ innovative teaching practices have been shown to increase student enjoy- ment [108,109]. Second, research established a clear emotional transmission pathway between student enjoyment and

teacher enjoyment in the classroom [11,26,110]. Although these mechanisms have emphasized an indirect pathway, our results suggested that instructional innovation may also exert a direct emotional impact on teachers, potentially by fos- tering a sense of autonomy, competence, or fulfillment in the creative process itself. Furthermore, our data revealed that teachers’ involvement in school decision-making, particularly in curriculum development and policy formation, is a major indicator of teachers’ enjoyment. This effect occurs because meaningful involvement boosts teachers’ sense of worth, empowerment, and self-confidence [111]. This aligns with Huang et al.’s empirical evidence, which established a connec- tion between teachers’ engagement in institutional decision-making and their positive emotional well-being [96]. School climate and teacher self-efficacy The following discussion examines how teacher self-efficacy is influenced by school climate factors operating across multiple ecological levels. At the micro level, this study reaffirmed the significant role of colleague collaboration in enhanc- ing teachers’ self-efficacy, a relationship well-documented in previous research [4,19,112]. This finding aligns with the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013, which identified school collaborative culture as one of the most significant predictors of both teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction [113]. The mechanism underlying this effect oper-

ates through two primary pathways: First, collaboration provides teachers with chances for reflection, allowing them to thoroughly examine and address issues in their lessons [114]. Second, through such interactions, teachers gain the con- fidence to experiment with new and different instructional strategies in their classes [115]; Even for educators who are not actively seeking innovation, collaborating with peers can boost their confidence and self-efficacy [116]. Second, while prior studies demonstrated that positive teacher-student relationships can significantly enhance teachers’ self-efficacy through reciprocal dynamics [4,117,118], the results of this research revealed a different scenario in Chinese college settings. Spe- cifically, students’ active participation in lessons or well-mannered and respectful attitudes do not appear to directly impact how college teachers perceive their self-efficacy. As explained above, this discrepancy may be attributed to the greater emphasis on respect for authority and hierarchical relationships between teachers and students in Chinese educational contexts. At the meso level, instructional innovation emerges as a critical factor in strengthening teachers’ self-efficacy. This finding supports a thread of research findings highlighting how incorporating innovative teaching methods and fostering a supportive teacher-learning environment elevate teachers’ confidence and faith in their capabilities [20,48,83]. The results emphasized the importance of fostering a supportive school climate where teachers can try innovative teaching

approaches and diverse ideas, and where teachers are also given ongoing opportunities for implementing new courses or curriculum materials, leading to the gradual enhancement of instructors’ self-assurance in instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management. Second, results also showed that teachers’ participation in school