2026-10-08T19:12:02Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33774529 2026-09-15T07:28:09Z category_26074 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Teachers' Cognitive Resources and Professional Preparation for Differentiated Instruction: The Roles of Mentalization, Epistemic Curiosity, and Flexible Grouping Timea Pap (21795695) Kinga Kalcza Janosi (6082256) Curriculum and pedagogy theory and development differentiated instruction mentalization epistemic curiosity flexible grouping special education qualification <p dir="ltr">Teachers' responses to learner diversity may depend on both personal cognitive resources and formal professional preparation. This cross-sectional correlational study examined associations between mindset, perceived certainty about others' mental states, epistemic curiosity, flexible grouping, and differentiated instruction among 166 teachers working in Romania and Hungary. Participants completed the DI-Quest, the Certainty About Mental States Questionnaire, and the I/D-Type Epistemic Curiosity Scale. Hierarchical regression indicated that interest-type epistemic curiosity and mentalization-related other-certainty were significantly associated with differentiated instruction beyond demographic controls, while special education qualification remained a significant predictor. Flexible grouping partially mediated the association between mentalization and differentiated instruction. The hypothesized moderated mediation by special education qualification was not supported; however, exploratory analyses indicated moderation of the direct association. Findings suggest that cognitive resources and professional preparation may make complementary contributions to differentiated practice and should both be considered in teacher education and professional development.</p> 2026-09-15T07:28:09Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33774529.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Teachers_Cognitive_Resources_and_Professional_Preparation_for_Differentiated_Instruction_The_Roles_of_Mentalization_Epistemic_Curiosity_and_Flexible_Grouping/33774529 CC BY 4.0