The relationship between school innovation climate and teacher innovation behavior in higher vocational colleges: the chain mediating role of teacher job crafting and creative self-efficacy

Background Teacher innovation behavior is essential to improving instructional quality and talent cultivation in higher vocational education, yet the psychological mechanisms linking school innovation climate to such behavior remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources framework, this study examined whether job crafting and creative self-efficacy sequentially mediate the relationship between school innovation climate and teacher innovation behavior. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 603 teachers from higher vocational colleges between May and June 2026 through the Wenjuanxing platform. School innovation climate, job crafting, creative self-efficacy, and teacher innovation behavior were measured using established scales. Data were analyzed with SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 27.0 through descriptive statistics, reliability and validity testing, common method bias assessment, correlation analysis, and mediation analysis. Results The results showed that school innovation climate was positively associated with teacher innovation behavior. Job crafting and creative self-efficacy each served as significant mediators, and they also formed a significant sequential mediation pathway. The indirect effects of job crafting and creative self-efficacy on the relationship between school innovation climate and teacher innovation behavior were 0.260 and 0.097, respectively, and the sequential indirect effect of job crafting and creative self-efficacy was estimated at 0.074. These three indirect effects accounted for 43.16, 16.18, and 12.31% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusion These findings suggest that a supportive school innovation climate is positively associated with teacher innovation behavior, with job crafting and creative self-efficacy representing significant indirect pathways in this relationship.