Classroom climate as a multilevel mediator linking teacher self-efficacy for inclusive practices and students’ psychosocial functioning

Abstract Students’ psychosocial functioning is shaped by proximal classroom conditions, yet links between teacher-level resources and student outcomes are often examined without distinguishing within- and between-class processes. Classroom climate may operate both as an individual experience and a shared classroom context. We tested a multilevel 2–1–1 model examining whether classroom climate represents an indirect pathway between teacher self-efficacy and students’ psychosocial functioning. Participants were 195 teachers and 983 primary-school students (50.6% girls; Mage = 8.68, SD = 0.70), nested within 195 classrooms. Teacher self-efficacy was assessed at Time 1, and classroom climate and psychosocial functioning were assessed at Time 2 using student reports. Multilevel modelling estimated within- and between-class associations and the between-level indirect effect. Classroom climate was positively associated with psychosocial functioning at the within-class level ( β = .45, p < .001) and between-class level ( β = .73, p < .001). Teacher self-efficacy positively predicted classroom-average climate ( β = .22, p = .005). The indirect effect of teacher self-efficacy on psychosocial functioning via classroom climate was significant ( B = 0.07, p = .007), whereas the direct effect was non-significant ( β = .03, p = .721). Findings are consistent with a modest multilevel indirect pathway linking teacher self-efficacy to students’ psychosocial functioning through classroom climate. However, teacher self-efficacy explained only a small proportion of between-class variance in classroom climate, suggesting that classroom climate is shaped by additional classroom, school, and student-composition factors.