Extending the theory of planned behavior in mathematics education: teachers’ innovative pedagogical knowledge, classroom climate, and gender differences in students’ innovative attitudes

Fostering students’ innovative capacities in mathematics is increasingly recognized as both a psychological and educational priority, yet little is known about how mathematics teachers’ innovative pedagogical knowledge and the classroom climate are jointly associated with students’ innovative attitudes, particularly in gender-segregated systems. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study surveyed 300 first-year secondary mathematics students in Saudi Arabia (150 males, 150 females) using validated instruments that assessed perceptions of teachers’ innovative pedagogical knowledge, classroom climate, and students’ innovative attitudes toward learning mathematics. Using a TPB-informed framework, the study examined how instructional and classroom factors were associated with students’ innovative attitudes in mathematics learning. Analyses included correlations, independent-samples t-tests, mediation models, multiple regression, and hierarchical regression. Results indicated that teachers’ innovative pedagogical knowledge was significantly associated with students’ innovative attitudes in mathematics, with stronger effects among female students. For girls, classroom climate showed a modest indirect association between teachers’ innovative pedagogical knowledge and innovative attitudes, while no evidence of a comparable indirect pathway was observed for boys. Gender also moderated the strength of predictors, as both teacher knowledge and classroom climate showed stronger associations with female students. Collectively, these factors explained approximately 25% of the variance in female students’ innovative attitudes toward mathematics learning, compared with a smaller share for males. The findings highlight gender-related differences in how instructional practices and classroom environments are associated with students’ innovative attitudes in mathematics and emphasize the importance of professional development and gender-responsive classroom practices that support creativity and innovation in mathematics learning.