Teacher identity as a mediator in the relationship between self-efficacy and possible selves.

The study investigates the role of teacher identity as a mediator in the relationship between self-efficacy and possible selves. We employed a cross-sectional study design in this research. Participants consisted of 511 volunteer pre-service teachers (70.5% female) attending a university in the Central Anatolia region of Türkiye. After providing written informed consent, participants responded to the Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale, the Teacher Identity Scale, and the New Teacher Possible Selves Questionnaire. To test the hypothesized indirect effects, data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and mediation analyses via the SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. The analysis indicated a positive correlation between self-efficacy and expected possible selves, while a negative correlation was observed with feared possible selves. Besides, teacher identity was positively correlated with expected possible selves and negatively correlated with feared possible selves. Mediation analysis indicated that the findings are consistent with a mediation model, supporting an indirect association pattern between self-efficacy and expected possible selves through teacher identity. Furthermore, the analysis revealed a similar indirect association pattern for the relationship between self-efficacy and feared possible selves. These findings offer valuable insights for developing strategies to strengthen expected possible selves in pre-service teachers. They also point to potential pathways for mitigating the intensity of feared possible selves.