Teacher professional development of digital pedagogy for inclusive education in post-pandemic era: Effects on teacher competence, self-efficacy, and work well-being

Despite the critical role of digital pedagogy in inclusive education after the pandemic, limited research examines how teachers' digital pedagogy competence affects their well-being and how professional development can support both. Drawing on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and self-efficacy theory, this mixed-method study investigated the mechanisms linking digital pedagogy to teacher well-being and tested an intervention to enhance these outcomes. Study 1 surveyed 478 teachers in China, revealing that digital pedagogy competence significantly predicted increased work engagement and reduced emotional exhaustion through digital self-efficacy. Study 2 implemented a two-week TPACK-based professional development program with 60 teachers randomly assigned to intervention and control groups, demonstrating significant improvements in teacher outcomes. Our findings demonstrate that effective teacher development must systematically integrate technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge while deliberately building digital self-efficacy. These results provide guidance for education systems to create inclusive digital learning environments while sustaining teachers’ work well-being. • Digital pedagogy competence directly improves wellbeing and reduces exhaustion. • Digital self-efficacy mediates between competence and work wellbeing. • Professional development yields large effects on competence, efficacy, and wellbeing. • Mixed-method design validates mediation mechanisms and tests intervention effectiveness.