Chinese English as a Foreign Language Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Psychological Well-Being as Predictors of Their Work Engagement

EFL teachers' engagement: The impact of well-being and emotion regulation

As foreign language education is a challenging and complex activity, investigating the factors that influence English as foreign language (EFL) teachers' engagement may be an interesting area of research. In this field, teachers' engagement is considered an important factor related to people's perception of work. With the emergence of Positive Psychology (PP), and with regard to the role of constructive emotion variables in teachers' engagement, more attention was paid to the practical aspects of life, and it views well-being as a crucial concern for individuals' success. Emotion regulation (ER), as another emotional trait, is noteworthy as it aids in managing the favorable and unfavorable emotions educators commonly encounter in educational settings. Therefore, the constructs of well-being and emotion regulation and their role in the EFL setting have been highlighted. Therefore, the current study sought to assess the effects of well-being and emotion regulation in EFL teachers' engagement. To this end, 410 Chinese EFL teachers were chosen to complete three scales, namely engagement, well-being and ER. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was run to inspect the responses of the teachers. The results specified that both ER and well-being had significant impacts on the engagement of Chinese EFL teachers. Indeed, 65 percent of changes in the EFL educators' engagement can be predicted by their well-being, and about 73 percent can be predicted by their emotional regulation. The consequences for EFL instructors, teacher trainers, and other academic stakeholders are also presented in detail.

Trajectory of Teacher Well-Being Research between 1973 and 2021: Review Evidence from 49 Years in Asia

This review portrays a dynamic developmental trend in the teacher well-being literature in Asia between 1973 and 2021 using a descriptive quantitative analysis approach. A search of the Scopus database identified 168 journal articles across 46 countries and regions in Asia. This number of publications indicated a substantial change in the knowledge corpus, particularly during the pandemic, although overall production was still relatively low. Further results revealed diversity but an imbalance of research location, research type, research methods, data collection techniques, and research foci. A functionalist perspective may suggest that the knowledge base on teacher well-being is at a beginning stage. Recommendations for future research are proposed including cross-region collaborations, more developed research foci, using mixed-method approaches, high-quality qualitative research designs, innovative qualitative techniques, and diverse qualitative data collection techniques.

English as a foreign language teachers’ professional success in the Chinese context: The effects of well-being and emotion regulation

Given the significance of teachers’ professional success in the adequacy of education, exploring the determinants of this variable appears crucial. To address this need, this inquiry inspected the role of well-being and emotion regulation in Chinese EFL teachers’ professional success. For this purpose, 357 Chinese EFL teachers were selected to answer three pre-designed questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using Smart-PLS was implemented to analyze teacher participants’ responses. The structural model revealed a strong, favorable connection between well-being, emotion regulation, and professional success. The model also demonstrated that both well-being and emotion regulation were highly influential in Chinese EFL teachers’ professional success. The potential implications for EFL teachers, teacher educators, and educational authorities are further discussed.

Enhancing Chinese EFL Teachers’ Work Engagement: The Role of Self and Collective Efficacy

Teachers’ work engagement is considered an essential component in instruction. Accordingly, the emphasis should be over physical and mental predictors of this construct. In this line, this study investigates the relationship between Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ individual self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and work engagement. To this end, 300 Chinese instructors (males = 96, females = 204) from different colleges and universities participated in this study. The questionnaires were distributed among teachers with different educational levels and experiences. Linear multiple regression was used as a measure for data analysis. The findings showed the significant correlations between teachers’ work engagement, self-efficacy, and collective efficacy. Comparing the predictability power, teachers’ self-efficacy (B = 0.57) proved to have a higher index compared to their index of collective efficacy competence (B = 0.22). This study concluded that self-efficacious teachers and teachers who believe in collective efficacy are more engaged in the EFL contexts. Moreover, the study has some pedagogical implications and suggestions for different teacher educators, administrators, and advisors.

A Structural Model of Teacher Self-Efficacy, Emotion Regulation, and Psychological Wellbeing Among English Teachers

Because of the exacting nature of teaching, identifying factors affecting teachers' mental health and psychological wellbeing are of paramount importance. Parallel with this line of inquiry, the goal of this project was to test a model of psychological wellbeing based on teacher self-efficacy and emotion regulation in an EFL context. To this end, 276 Iranian English teachers participated in this survey. First, the measurement models for the three latent constructs were verified through performing Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Then Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized model. SEM outcomes evince that both teacher self-efficacy and emotion regulation were the significant predictors of teachers' psychological wellbeing, with teacher self-efficacy being a stronger correlate than emotion regulation. The findings offer significant implications for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers.

The Contribution of Psychological Wellbeing and Emotion-Regulation to Foreign Language Teaching Enjoyment

The notion of foreign language teaching enjoyment (FLTE) has recently been introduced to the field of foreign language education as a positive emotion which influences teachers’ professional and psychological growth. Due to the pure novelty of the concept, scant research attention has been paid to its antecedents in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. The present study aims to investigate the extent to which psychological wellbeing and emotion regulation can contribute to FLTE of Iranian EFL teachers. The participants (N = 575) responded to three electronic questionnaires and the collected data were then analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). The SEM analysis indicated that Iranian EFL teachers’ psychological wellbeing and emotion regulation significantly influenced their FLTE. The findings revealed that psychological wellbeing was a stronger predictor of EFL teachers’ FLTE in the Iranian context. The findings were discussed regarding the causes of increasing teaching enjoyment. The results highlighted the importance of applying psychology in language teaching research. Finally, implications and suggestions for future research are offered.