Between Strain and Strength: A Longitudinal Examination of the Reciprocal Associations Among School Staff’s Self-Efficacy, Attitudes Towards Inclusion, and Emotional Exhaustion

Against the background of a district-wide support initiative comprising online materials, counselling, and workshops, the present two-wave longitudinal study examined stability and reciprocal links among emotional exhaustion, attitudes towards inclusion, and self-efficacy in staff from 19 inclusive schools (NT1 = 835; NT2 = 800). Associations with staff-reported uptake of the support offer were examined as a secondary, exploratory research question. Mean change was negligible across constructs, though individual change varied. Latent correlations showed that exhaustion was negatively related to self-efficacy and inclusion attitudes. Cross-lagged effects were limited: higher exhaustion at T1 predicted a small decrease in self-efficacy at T2. Uptake was modest and only weakly associated with change in the constructs. The findings highlight the potential relevance of school-wide, data-based and differentiated professionalisation and stronger transfer routines, which should be examined in future research.