Empowerment as a Mediator Between Childcare Teachers’ Teaching Efficacy and Professional Development : A Cluster Analysis by Efficacy Type

This study investigated the role of empowerment as a mediator between childcare teachers’ teaching efficacy and professional development, with a focus on differences based on the type of teaching efficacy. Data were collected from 579 childcare teachers across 65 centers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, and Busan. Teaching efficacy was assessed through its subdimensions: personal efficacy and general efficacy. Teachers were categorized into three clusters—general efficacy-oriented, personal efficacy-oriented, and mixed efficacy types—using a two-step cluster analysis. Mediation analyses were performed using Hayes’s PROCESS macro (Model 4), incorporating 5,000 bootstrap resamples and 95% confidence intervals. The results showed significant differences in the mediating role of empowerment among the clusters. In the personal-efficacy and mixed-efficacy groups, teaching efficacy positively predicted professional development both directly and indirectly through empowerment. This indicates that teachers’ self-belief in their instructional abilities enhances their intrinsic motivation, autonomy, and competence, subsequently promoting professional growth. However, in the general-efficacy-oriented group, the indirect effect through empowerment was not significant, suggesting that a belief in educational systems alone may not activate internal empowerment processes. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening teachers’ personal efficacy—confidence in their teaching influence—as a crucial factor in fostering empowerment and professional development. Practical implications include the need for empowerment-focused professional training and institutional support to enhance teachers’ autonomy and encourage participatory decision-making.