Latent profiles of teacher self-regulation: demographic correlates and the ıncremental role of cognitive flexibility

Traditional variable-centered approaches often fail to capture the multi-faceted and intra-individual variations inherent in educator behaviors, thereby overlooking the heterogeneous configurations of teacher self-regulated learning (SRL). Furthermore, the structural measurement of teacher self-regulation frequently suffers from high factor-intercorrelations, necessitating advanced psychometric frameworks to isolate distinct self-regulatory components before linking them to cognitive and demographic antecedents. This cross-sectional survey study aimed to investigate the heterogeneous nature of in-service teachers' SRL skills by identifying distinct latent profiles. Additionally, it examined how these emerging patterns are predicted by teachers' cognitive flexibility and specific demographic characteristics within the context of Türkiye. Data were collected from a sample of N = 352 in-service teachers across three provinces in Türkiye using the Teacher Self-Regulation Scale (TSRS) and the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS). To address factor-intercorrelations in confirmatory factor analysis, the TSRS was re-specified using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) to yield seven standardized indicators (a combined Self-Regulation Core, intrinsic interest, performance goal orientation, mastery goal orientation, emotional control, self-reaction, and help-seeking). Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) based on a class-varying diagonal specification was performed to detect teacher profiles, followed by the bias-adjusted automatic three-step procedure (R3STEP) for covariate analyses. LPA identified four distinct teacher profiles: Constrained , Routine , Active , and Resourceful . R3STEP covariate analyses revealed that higher cognitive flexibility significantly decreased the likelihood of being classified into the more rigid profiles ( Constrained and Routine ) relative to the highly adaptive Resourceful profile. Regarding demographics, male teachers and upper-secondary school teachers were substantially more likely to belong to the Constrained and Routine profiles, whereas private school teachers demonstrated a significantly lower probability of membership in these rigid configurations. These findings underscore the critical value of adopting a person-centered perspective to capture the nuanced, multi-faceted nature of teacher self-regulation. The results suggest that educational authorities and policy-makers should discard conventional "one-size-fits-all" professional development frameworks in favor of adaptive, profile-tailored support systems that accommodate teachers' diverse cognitive and self-regulatory capacities.