The objective of this research was to analyze the mediation of academic engagement and the satisfaction of basic needs between teaching styles and academic confidence amongst teachers during initial training. The research design was observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, and non-randomized. In total, 920 university students in initial teacher training participated (61.85% women) (Mage = 24.73; SD = 5.34). The scales of interpersonal teaching styles, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, academic engagement, and academic confidence were used, and a structural equation analysis with latent variables was carried out. The results highlight the important mediating role played by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs between the autonomous support style and the academic confidence of the trainee teachers. This research also highlights the importance, both for teachers and researchers, of using an autonomous support style, as well as the creation of a context for encouraging the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, to promote academic confidence in initial teacher training programs at university.
Keywords: autonomous support; controlling style; higher education; self-determination.