How Inclusive Leadership Affects Teachers' Innovative Behavior in Chinese Kindergartens: The Sequential Mediation Role of Teacher Efficacy and Psychological Safety

Although kindergarten teachers' innovative behavior is vital for developing young children's innovative literacy and advancing preschool education reform, research on the factors influencing this behavior is notably scarce.This research aims to uncover how inclusive leadership affects teachers' innovative behaviors, specifically examining the sequential mediating roles of teacher efficacy and psychological safety. It analyzes data from 1,020 teachers across 280 kindergartens in Guangxi, China, using Structural Equation Modeling and Bootstrap Analysis.The study reveals a significant positive correlation between principals' inclusive leadership and teachers' innovative behavior, with teacher efficacy and psychological safety acting as sequential mediators in this relationship. Additionally, it finds that teacher efficacy mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and psychological safety, and psychological safety in turn mediates between teacher efficacy and innovative behavior. Overall, the study proposes a new model illustrating how principal inclusive leadership influences teacher innovative behavior, offering insights for enhancing kindergarten teachers' innovativeness. It emphasizes the importance of considering inclusive leadership, teacher efficacy, and psychological safety in designing programs to promote teacher innovation.