Professional learning, classroom diversity, and teacher multilingualism as predictors of multicultural teaching self-efficacy: a TALIS 2024 study from Norway

Drawing on data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024, this study investigated the predictors of multicultural teaching self-efficacy (MTSE) among 848 Norwegian lower secondary teachers nested within 110 schools. A hierarchical linear model examined the contributions of initial teacher education (ITE), professional development (PD) participation, classroom linguistic diversity, adaptive teaching practices, school climate, and teacher multilingualism to MTSE, as measured by a seven-item scale. ITE (β = .105, p < .001), PD (β = .131, p = .004), classroom linguistic diversity (β = .088, p < .001), and adaptive teaching practices (β = .121, p < .001) emerged as significant independent predictors. Teacher multilingualism showed no significant main effect or interaction with classroom linguistic diversity, though unadjusted group differences indicated that teachers with larger linguistic repertoires reported modestly higher MTSE. Despite 54% of teachers reporting high PD need in multicultural and multilingual settings, only 27% had participated in relevant PD. The findings point to the need for more systematic integration of multicultural and multilingual content in Norwegian ITE programmes and for expanded access to domain-specific PD, particularly for teachers working in linguistically diverse classrooms.