In Germany, one of the key challenges in future education policy is the increasing shortage of teachers. Recently, there has already been a nationwide shortage of 14,500 teachers (Kultusministerkonferenz, 2022) which is expected to increase significantly by 2035 (Dohmen, 2024). In this context it has been shown that teachers' well-being is a crucial risk factor for dropping out of the profession (García-Carmona et al., 2019; Thomson & Hillman, 2020). Given this negative impact, it is essential for research to further address the potential predictors of teachers' well-being in order to sustain and protect the workforce (Beames et al., 2023).
Many studies have already revealed the significant impact of teachers' basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) for their well-being (e.g., Harrison et al., 2025). However, it has been neglected to investigate the role of self-efficacy in this association. Therefore, based on Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) this study aimed at investigating the specific associations between teachers' BPNS at work, their job-related self-efficacy, as well as their well-being. In order to address this research question, we distributed an online questionnaire to schools all over Germany assessing teachers BPNS at work, job-related self-efficacy and various indicators of teachers' general well-being (life satisfaction, mood level) as well as professional well-being (job satisfaction, stress, burnout). Altogether, 415 German teachers participated voluntarily.
Primary correlation analyses confirmed former research findings showing high associations between all three constructs (e.g., Cansoy et al., 2020; Kidger et al., 2016; Xiyun et al., 2022). Moreover, mediator analyses revealed a significant mediating role of teachers' job-related self-efficacy in the relationship between BPNS at work and all five indicators of teachers' well-being. Despite of the cross-sectional design these results lead to a variety of practical implications focusing on the support of teachers' well-being and retention by promoting their BPNS and self-efficacy.