Perceived social support and preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education: a serial mediation model of attribution style and teaching efficacy

Background: As inclusive education has become a central priority in global education policy, mainstream preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion have been identified as a key factor influencing the quality of inclusive practice in early childhood settings. Drawing on attribution theory and social cognitive theory, this study examines whether perceived social support, attribution style, and teaching efficacy are associated with preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education, and tests a hypothesised serial mediation model in a sample from Guangdong, China. Methods: Using cluster sampling, a questionnaire survey was administered to 482 mainstream kindergarten teachers across Guangdong Province, China. Data were analysed using SPSS 27.0 and the PROCESS macro, with indirect effects estimated via bootstrapping. Results: (a) Social support was significantly and positively associated with attitudes towards inclusive education among mainstream preschool teachers (r = 0.188, p < 0.01). (b) The independent mediating effect of attribution style on the relationship between social support and attitudes towards inclusive education was non-significant (β = 0.004, 95% CI [−0.035, 0.014]). (c) Teaching efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between social support and attitudes towards inclusive education (β = 0.080, 95% CI [0.039, 0.134]). (d) Attribution style and teaching efficacy together formed a significant serial mediation pathway between perceived social support and attitudes towards inclusive education (β = 0.015, 95% CI [0.006, 0.031]). Conclusions: These findings suggest that perceived social support, teaching efficacy and attribution style are meaningfully associated with preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education. They also indicate the potential value of considering teachers’ efficacy beliefs and attribution patterns alongside external support systems in future professional development and intervention research. This study primarily contributes by identifying a serial pathway through which perceived social support is related to inclusive attitudes via attribution style and teaching efficacy. A secondary contribution lies in providing evidence from Guangdong, China, which may inform ongoing efforts to strengthen inclusive early childhood education in underexplored non-Western settings.