An Investigation of Teacher Candidates' Self‐Efficacy Beliefs and Self‐Evaluations Towards Cultural Diversity and Their Empathic Orientations

ABSTRACT This study examines teacher candidates' self‐efficacy beliefs, sensitivity to cultural diversity and empathic orientations toward linguistic cultural diversity. The study employed a correlational survey design to investigate descriptive levels, relationships between variables, predictive factors, and group comparisons. Data were collected from 248 teacher candidates, with analyses conducted on 243 participants after outlier control. The findings revealed multiple dimensions: First, Turkish teacher candidates demonstrated high levels of self‐efficacy beliefs towards linguistic cultural diversity and cultural sensitivity. Second, significant positive relationships were found between self‐efficacy beliefs, sensitivity to cultural diversity, and empathic orientations. Third, regression analyses showed that both self‐efficacy beliefs and cultural sensitivity significantly predicted empathic orientations, with self‐evaluation emerging as the stronger predictor. Finally, comparative analyses revealed that female teacher candidates exhibited higher self‐efficacy beliefs than males, and those willing to work with different cultures showed significantly higher self‐efficacy scores. The desire to live with people from different cultures and work in a different culture was positively associated with self‐efficacy beliefs.