A cross-cultural examination of the role of enjoyment and passion in bilingual English teachers’ desire for professional development: evidence from Iran and Kuwait

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present mixed-methods cross-cultural study probed the association between bilingual English teachers’ enjoyment, passion, and desire for professional development from the Iranian and Kuwaiti teachers’ standpoints. In doing so, a random sample of bilingual English teachers (N = 426) was chosen from educational institutions in Iran and Kuwait. Then, using self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, participants’ beliefs and attitudes on the interaction of enjoyment, passion, and desire for professional development were evaluated. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) exhibited close, positive associations between Iranian and Kuwaiti teachers’ passion, enjoyment, and desire for professional development. Moreover, the results obtained from structural equation modelling (SEM) uncovered that Iranian and Kuwaiti teachers’ enjoyment and passion can positively predict their desire for professional development. However, as the results of measurement invariance revealed, some meaningful differences were found between Iranian and Kuwaiti structural models concerning the predictive role of passion and enjoyment. Additionally, according to the thematic analysis (TA) outcomes, both Iranian and Kuwaiti instructors believed that passion and enjoyment can trigger teachers to attend professional development courses. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the role of pleasant emotions in language teachers’ motivation for professional advancement.