The role of innovative work behavior and teacher self-efficacy in shaping educational innovation: a systematic literature review

Educational innovation has become a core agenda in global education reform, aiming to equip learners with the skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex and dynamic world. However, despite these ambitious reforms, a persistent gap remains between policy expectations and actual classroom practice. This gap highlights the critical need to better understand the psychological and behavioral factors that enable or hinder innovation at the teacher level. In this context, teacher self-efficacy (TSE) and innovative work behavior (IWB) have emerged as two key research variables. Although the importance of TSE and IWB in driving educational innovation is widely recognized, there remains a lack of systematic literature reviews (SLRs) exploring the interrelationship between these two constructs and how they function together. This SLR explores the role and association between TSE and IWB in the context of educational innovation by synthesising findings from 29 empirical studies published between 2016 and 2025. The results suggest a reciprocal relationship between TSE and IWB: higher TSE is linked to more active innovative practice, and successful innovation may subsequently reinforce teachers’ self-efficacy. Thematic analysis of the reviewed studies reveals that leadership style and organizational climate significantly influence both TSE and IWB, and research attention to these contextual factors has increased notably in recent years. The review suggests that improving TSE can effectively stimulate IWB, while creating a supportive environment is essential to sustaining teacher-led innovation. Ultimately, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the interaction between individual teacher factors and contextual influences, offering theoretical insights for fostering technological and pedagogical innovation in educational practice.