Teachers' social goals and classroom engagement: The mediating role of teachers' self-efficacy

• Stronger teacher social goals predicted higher self-efficacy for motivating students • Stronger teacher social goals predicted higher self-efficacy for managing classrooms • Teacher self-efficacy mediates social goals effects on student classroom engagement • Teacher self-efficacy for instructional strategies did not predict classroom engagement • Findings underscore promoting social goals and self-efficacy in teacher education In response to limited research exploring teachers’ motivational orientations underlying their efforts to develop meaningful relationships with students, the present longitudinal study with Canadian practicing teachers ( N = 497) investigated the effects of teachers’ social goals on perceived classroom engagement as mediated by their selfefficacy beliefs across six months. Cross-lagged analyses showed teachers’ social goals at Time 1 to predict their self-efficacy (for student engagement) and their students’ classroom engagement (emotional) at Time 2. The longitudinal structural equation model showed teachers’ self-efficacy for engaging students to most strongly mediate the effects of their social goals on students’ classroom engagement. Implications for teacher training and professional development are discussed.