Same pathway, different outcomes: Professional learning and multicultural teaching self-efficacy across three Scandinavian education systems

This comparative study examined predictors of multicultural teaching self-efficacy (MTSE) among lower secondary teachers in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, using TALIS 2024 data and hierarchical linear models with bootstrapped mediation analysis and moderation tests. Initial teacher education (ITE), professional development (PD) participation, classroom linguistic diversity, and school professional learning community (PLC) climate were significant independent predictors across all three countries, replicating core professional learning pathways identified in existing TALIS research. PD participation mediated part of the ITE-MTSE relationship in all three countries, though the mediated share was smallest in Norway, where teachers with the strongest perceived PD need benefited least from participation: a possible content-need mismatch rather than an absence of mediation. Teacher multilingualism independently predicted MTSE in Norway, with a weaker, marginal pattern in Sweden. Collaborative PD formats were positively associated with MTSE in Norway and Sweden. Denmark showed an apparent MTSE advantage unexplained by any measured predictor.