Language teacher psychological well-being: an insight into the impacts of emotion regulation, reflective teaching, self-efficacy, and identity in an EFL context

Abstract

Teachers' psychological wellbeing is defined as their evaluation and contentment with their own fulfillment, wellness, and profession as a concept best observable in positive psychology. Therefore, the psychological well-being of teachers is intertwined with a variety of other concepts. In the past, investigations mirrored that emotional regulation, reflective teaching, self-efficacy, and identity play important roles in the psychological and mental health of language instructors. Despite the enormous impact they play, there has never been any study that specifically investigated the contribution of emotion regulation, reflective teaching, self-efficacy, or identity to the psychological well-being of language teachers. As a result, the purpose of this sturdy was to provide emphasis on the aforementioned interpersonal dynamics within an EFL context. The Language Teacher Emotion Regulation Inventory, the English Language Teacher Reflective Inventory, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, the Professional Identity Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being at Work were all part of an online survey that 433 EFL teachers from China responded to. The data analysis conducted with Structural Equation Modeling as well as Confirmatory Factor Analysis via LISREL 8.80 suggested that the status of language instructors' emotion control, reflective teaching, self-efficacy, and identity may be expected to be a significant indicator for their psychological well-being. This was shown to be the case after they were subjected to a questionnaire. The results highlight the need of adding reflective practices, skills for emotional management, self-efficacy beliefs, and identity reconstruction within the curriculum of teacher training programs.