Drivers of teacher commitment to place-based education: unveiling motivational pathways through a cognitive-affective-behavioral lens

Despite the growing emphasis on place-based education in K-12 settings, research into the motivational mechanisms that drive teachers’ implementation of these pedagogies remains scarce. This study aims to develop and validate a conceptual model of K-12 teachers’ motivation for place-based education, based on the Cognitive-Affective-Behavioral framework. Data were collected from 255 K-12 teachers across 99 schools and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that teachers’ place cognition significantly enhances their place identity ( β = 0.753, p < 0.001) and place emotions ( β = 0.446, p < 0.001), which in turn positively influence their willingness to implement place-based education ( β = 0.749, p < 0.001). Notably, place identity alone does not have a direct significant effect on implementation willingness. These findings confirm the cognitive-affective pathway in education and enhance motivation theory by identifying key motivational factors in place-based education. The study recommends that educational policymakers incorporate local cultural content into teacher training and organize immersive experiences to strengthen teachers’ place cognition and emotional engagement.