Teachers’ classroom practices supporting multilingual students and the perceived impact of inclusion: Modeling concurrent predictors

The study evaluated predictors of teachers’ implementation of classroom practices supporting multilingual students in linguistically diverse classrooms and their perceived impact of inclusion among 361 teachers in Italy. Using an online questionnaire, we gathered information about the sample’s demographic characteristics, teachers’ competence, inclusion beliefs, self-efficacy, burnout, and heritage language beliefs. Structural equation modeling showed that higher competence enhanced self-efficacy, which in turn increased teachers’ adaptation of instruction, resulting in a more consistent application of classroom practices that support multilingual learners. Furthermore, positive heritage language beliefs directly influenced these practices and indirectly influenced the perceived burden related to the impact of inclusion. These findings highlight some key factors that shape inclusive teaching in multilingual settings.