Beyond infrastructure: the mediating role of digital self-efficacy and the direct power of collaborative culture on inclusive educational practices in Ibero-America

As educational systems increasingly rely on digital technologies to foster inclusive practices, institutional infrastructural shortages remain a critical barrier. Utilising a sample of 23,091 teachers across six Ibero-American countries from the 2024 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), this study investigates the relationships between school technology shortages, teacher digital self-efficacy, collaborative culture and inclusive educational practices. Analysing the data via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the findings reveal a competitive partial mediation: technology shortages negatively affect inclusive practices by eroding teacher digital self-efficacy, while teachers simultaneously exhibit pedagogical resilience by directly compensating for deficits. Collaborative culture did not moderate the self-efficacy–inclusion relationship; instead, it exerted a massive, independent direct effect on inclusive actions. An Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) indicates that policies addressing the digital divide must prioritise collaborative professional networks alongside psychological support rather than solely provisioning hardware. This study offers a crucial empirical foundation for advancing digital equity in inclusive education.