The Effects of Pre-service Teachers’ Writing Motivation and Plagiarism Awareness on Writing Self-Efficacy

This study aimed to examine the effects of pre-service teachers’ writing motivations and plagiarism awareness on their writing self-efficacy, and to explore the relationships among these variables. The participants were 207 students enrolled in the College of Education X and teacher training courses at S University during the second semester of the 2025 academic year. Analyses were conducted using SPSS, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression. The results revealed that, first, pre-service teachers showed a high level of plagiarism awareness (M = 4.24), while their writing motivation and writing self-efficacy were at moderate levels. Second, significant positive correlations were found regarding writing motivation, plagiarism awareness, and writing self-efficacy. Third, among the sub-factors of writing motivation, writing self-efficacy belief, emotion, and writing for thinking significantly influenced writing self-efficacy, with writing self-efficacy belief showing the strongest positive effect. These findings suggest that pre-service teachers’ writing competence is strengthened not only by technical proficiencies but also through internal motivations, ethical awareness, and emotional factors.