Background: Research has shown that students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to have lower academic performance compared to children from better-off families. However, the way that socioeconomic status (SES) influences student learning outcomes has not yet been fully examined. Thus, this study explores the indirect effects of students’ SES on reading achievement through academic motivation. Specifically, the mediating role of the following three motivation elements is investigated:mastery-approach orientation of achievement goals,enjoyment of reading, andexpected occupational status.Methods: Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized mediation model in each European country (n = 38) that took part in the PISA 2018 cycle. Specifically, data was obtained from 237,366 15-year-old students. Common measures for SES, academic motivation, and reading achievement were employed to examine whether the selected academic motivation elements have similar effects in each country. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to validate the factorial structure of mediators and test their measurement invariance across the samples.Results: Within-country SEM analysis revealed thatexpected occupational statuspartially mediates the relationship between SES and reading achievement in all countries.Enjoyment of readingfitted well as a mediator in almost all countries (n = 37), whereasmastery-approach orientation of achievement goalsonly appeared as a mediator in 11 countries. The direct effect of SES on academic achievement was significantly reduced in all models.Conclusions: This study provides evidence thatenjoyment of readingandexpected occupational statuscan be treated as mediators in the relationship between SES and reading achievement in European countries. Implications for research and theory for promoting equity in education are drawn. It is argued that schools and teachers should encourage students to participate in activities that foster their intrinsic motivation towards reading and raise their educational and occupational expectations, especially for those coming from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

Professional Development (PD) can be a powerful lever for improving the quality of teacher-child interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and teachers’ feelings of support and competence. However, there is a dearth of studies examining different formats of PD and their links with workplace features. The present study aims to understand (a) different types of PD participation (structured and center-embedded) and their levels of interest of preschool teachers in four European countries (Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, and Romania), and (b) the extent to which they are associated with PD incentives and perceived support. Participants were preschool teachers from Cyprus (N = 93; M _age = 41; SD = 7.47), Greece (N = 92; M _age = 40; SD = 9.81), Portugal (N = 92; M _age = 45; SD = 9.65), and Romania (N = 97; M _age = 40; SD = 10.40). The vast majority of participants were women (95-99%). Participants reported on PD attendance – structured (courses/seminars, conferences) and center-embedded (e.g., observation visits, peer and/or self-observation) –, levels of interest in PD; PD incentives (e.g., release from working with children; reimbursement/payment of costs); and perceived workplace support. Results from the Multi-Group Path Models showed that, in all countries, the provision of incentives was associated with increased participation in center-embedded PD, but not in structured PD. Additionally, the perceived support from their setting was positively associated with greater interest in PD. Understanding what best supports different types of PD can be critical to inform policy efforts aiming to increase PD attendance.

The main aim of this study is to explore early childhood teachers’ social self-efficacy in Cyprus, Greece, and Portugal. In addition, this study examines the validity of the factorial structure of the Teachers’ Social Self-Efficacy Scale (TSSES). A sample of 349 early childhood teachers across the three countries participated in this study. An exploratory analysis and then a confirmatory factor analysis were employed to reveal the structure of the TSSES. Configural and metric invariance were established for the one-factor structure of the TSSES. The results showed that teachers in Portugal and Cyprus experience high levels of social self-efficacy, whereas Greek teachers experience moderate to high levels of social self-efficacy. The TSSES seems to be a reliable instrument for assessing social self-efficacy beliefs. Possible implications for practice are also discussed.

This study was driven by two primary objectives. The first objective focused on exploring the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership practices and teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ effectiveness. The second aimed to evaluate the adequacy of leadership training programs in Cyprus, with particular emphasis on how well these programs foster transformational leadership skills. To effectively address these goals, the research employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. For the quantitative phase, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was administered to 630 teachers from 28 schools across all districts. Confirmatory Factor Analyses indicated that the Transformational and Transactional leadership dimensions could be represented by a higher-order factor. Subsequently, Structural Equation Modeling revealed a positive association between Transformational/Transactional leadership and principal effectiveness, whereas Passive-avoidant leadership showed a small negative association. For the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five principals exhibiting different levels of adoption of transformational practices. Thematic analysis revealed shortcomings in current training programs, including a lack of substantive focus on preparing principals to become transformational school leaders. Overall, the study highlights the importance of transformational school leadership practices in shaping teachers’ perceptions of their principal effectiveness and emphasizes the need to revise principal training programs by incorporating transformational content.