Conference Program

In contemporary learning environments shaped by digital transformation and widening inequalities, sustaining students’ motivation and participation requires pedagogical conditions that foster agency, recognition and belonging, drawing on teachers’ motivational resources (OECD, 2025). From this perspective, Self-Determination Theory (SDT) provides a useful framework for understanding how the quality of motivation—particularly when supported by experiences of autonomy, competence and relatedness—may translate into professional dispositions oriented towards more participatory and inclusive teaching practices (Ryan & Deci, 2017), including autonomy-supportive approaches (Reeve & Cheon, 2021; Reeve et al., 2022). This contribution investigates motivational processes among Italian specialist support teachers and examines the links between motivation to teach, perceived professional competence, orientations towards participation-rich practices, and the pedagogical use of technologies from an inclusive standpoint. The study builds on recent national research on specialist support teacher education and competencies, as well as technology-mediated inclusive practices (Balestra et al., 2024a, 2024b; Simone et al., 2025).

Data derive from an anonymous online survey administered at the end of the specialisation pathway (Summer 2025; N = 1,579) to participants enrolled in INDIRE-linked training routes for specialist support teaching. The questionnaire (Limone & Simone, 2022) includes 33 multiple-choice items organised into four areas: (1) general profile (e.g., age, qualifications, teaching experience); (2) motivation to teach and perceived competence relevant to the role; (3) teaching and relational experience (colleagues’ involvement, the quality of relationships with learners with disabilities and with the class as a group, and relationships with families); and (4) the use of educational technologies from an inclusion-oriented perspective (frequency and purposes of use, perceived effectiveness, challenges, and strengths). Items are formatted as 6-point semantic differential scales; a final open-ended question collects brief reflective narratives designed to elicit professional self-understandings, dilemmas, and perceived enabling conditions.

The analysis plan comprises three steps: (1) assessing internal consistency and, where appropriate, exploring the structure of motivational indicators and key sub-dimensions; (2) identifying motivational profiles through person-centred approaches (e.g., latent profile analysis or clustering), distinguishing more autonomy-aligned configurations from more controlled or externally regulated ones; and (3) examining associations between profiles and/or motivational indicators and participation-related variables, including propensity to collaborate with colleagues and families, orientations towards active and inclusive methods (e.g., cooperative and workshop-based approaches), and the use of technologies as mediators of agency and accessibility. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses will triangulate quantitative findings, further clarifying perceived enablers and obstacles in professional practice. The study aims to investigate how initial teacher education can support the development of a professional identity oriented towards fostering agency and active participation for all learners, offering insights for pedagogical innovation consistent with the values of democratic schooling and with teaching practices capable of sustaining motivation and belonging in inclusive contexts.