Modeling teacher emotionality and identity through structural equation modeling (SEM): English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in focus

Subject Areas : Curriculum Design and Development

Masoud Mortazavi Nezhad ¹ ( Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran. )
Fazlolah Samimi ² ( Department of English Language, Bandar Abbas Branch. Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran )
Shahram Afraz ³ ( Department of English Language, Qeshm Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran )

Received: 2024-05-19 Accepted : 2024-08-25 Published : 2024-09-20

Keywords: : Emotionality, Identity, Teacher Emotionality, Teacher Identity,

Abstract :

The term ‘teacher emotions’ is defined as feelings and affections teachers experience in their professional practice. Teacher identity, as the beliefs, values, and perceptions that teachers hold about themselves and their roles, holds paramount importance in the realm of education as it profoundly shapes the teaching and learning process. This study sought to delve into modeling EFL teachers’ emotionality and identity. In so doing, a quantitative correlational design was used. The participants employed included 200 Iranian male and female EFL teachers who were selected from different language institutes of Iran through convenient sampling. To collect the data, the Teacher Emotionality Questionnaire and the Revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5) were used. To analyze the data, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was run. As unveiled by the results, positive emotionality (i.e., enjoyment, responsiveness, emotional support and flexibility) was a direct and significant predictor of informational identity. Positive emotionality was a negative and significant predictor of diffuse-avoidant identity. Negative emotionality (i.e., anxiety and burnout) was a significant and negative predictor of informational and normative identity. Negative emotionality was a significant and positive predictor of diffuse-avoidant identity. Congruent with the findings, it is concluded that Iranian EFL teachers are exposed to different kinds of positive and negative emotions. The results also lead to the conclusion that diffuse-avoidant identity aspect is weak in teachers who experience positive emotions. In sum, it is concluded that emotionality and identity aspects are interrelated in EFL teachers. EFL teachers should make attempts to experience more positive emotions than negative ones so that their identity is developed in a positive and authentic direction.

References:

Acheson, K., & Nelson, R. (2020). Utilising the emotional labour scale to analyse the form and extent of emotional labour among foreign language teachers in the US public school system. In C. Gknonou, J.M. Dewaele, & J. King (Eds.), The emotional rollercoaster of language teaching (pp. 31-52). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/GKONOU8335
Agudo, J. D. D. (2018). Introduction and overview. In J. D. D. Martínez Agudo (Ed.), Emotions in second language teaching: Theory, research and teacher education (pp. 1-16). Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75438-3
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., & Sorensen, Ch. (2010). Introduction to research in education (8th ed.). Wadsworth Group.
Benesch, S. (2017). Emotions and English language teaching: Exploring teachers’ emotion labor. Routledge.
Benesch, S. (2018). Emotions as agency: Feeling rules, emotion labor, and English language teachers’ decision-making. System 79, 60–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.03.015
Benesch, S., & Prior, M. T. (2023). Rescuing “emotion labor” from (and for language teacher emotion research. System, 113(4), Article 102995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.102995
Berzonsky, M. D. (1989). Identity style: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of adolescent research, 4(3), 268-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/074355488943002
Berzonsky, M., Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., Smits, I., & Papini, D.R. (2013). Development and validation of the Revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5): Factor structure, reliability, and validity. Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 893–904. DOI: 10.1037/a0032642
Burić, I., & Moè, A. (2020). What makes teachers enthusiastic: The interplay of positive affect, self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 89, Article 103008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.103008
Burke, P. J. (1991). Identity processes and social stress. American Sociological Review, 56, 836–849.
Burke, P. J., & Stets, J. E. (2009). Identity theory. Oxford University Press.
Chen, J. (2016). Understanding teacher emotions: The development of a teacher emotion inventory. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 68–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.001
Chen, J. (2019). Efficacious and positive teachers achieve more: Examining the relationship between teacher efficacy, emotions, and their practicum performance. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 28(4), 327–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0427-9
Day, C. (2018). Professional identity matters: Agency, emotions, and resilience. In P. A. Schutz, J. Hong, D. Cross (Eds.), Research on teacher identity: Mapping challenges and innovations, (pp. 61-70). Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93836-3_6
De Costa, P. I., Li, W., & Rawal, H. (2019). Language teacher emotions. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of teacher education (pp. 1-4). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_262-1
Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3–4), 169–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939208411068
Esmaeili, F., Modirkhamene, S., & Alavinia, P. (2019). EFL teachers’ emotions, their identity development and teaching strategies: A constant-comparative approach. International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 7(4). 1-12. http://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value7%20issue4/1-7-4-19.pdf
Frenzel, A. C., Becker-Kurz, B., Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., & Lüdtke, O. (2018). Emotion transmission in the classroom revisited: A reciprocal effects model of teacher and student enjoyment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(5), 628–639. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000228
Frenzel, A. C., Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Daniels, L. M., Durksen, T. L., Becker-Kurz, B., & Klassen, R. M. (2016). Measuring teachers’ enjoyment, anger, and anxiety: The Teacher Emotions Scales (TES). Contemporary Educational Psychology, 46, 148–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2016.05.003
Fried, L., Mansfield, C., & Dobozy, E. (2015). Teacher emotion research: Introducing a conceptual model to guide future research. Issues in Educational Research, 25(4), 415-441. https://www.iier.org.au/iier25/fried.pdf
Gkonou, C., Dewaele, J. M., & King, J. (2020). The emotional rollercoaster of language teaching. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/GKONOU8335
Glazzard, J., & Rose, A. (2019). The impact of teacher well-being and mental health on pupil progress in primary schools. Journal of Public Mental Health, 19(4), 349–357. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpmh-02-2019-0023
Golzar, J. (2020). Teacher identity formation through classroom practices in the post-method era: A systematic review. Cogent education, 7(1), Article 1853304. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2020.1853304
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271
Han, J., & Yin, H. (2016). Teacher motivation: Definition, research development and implications for teachers. Cogent Education, 3(1), Article 1217819. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2016.1217819
Hargreaves, A. (1998). The emotional practice of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14(8), 835-854. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(98)00025-0
Hargreaves, A. (2000). Four ages of professionalism and professional learning. Teachers and Teaching, 6(2), 151-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/713698714
Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press.
Hodges, W. F. (2015). The psychophysiology of anxiety. In M. Zuckerman & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Emotions and anxiety: new concepts, methods, and applications, (pp.187–206). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315744643-14
LeDoux, J. E. (1996). The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional life. Simon and Schuster.
McCall, G. J., & Simmons, J. L. (1978). Identities and interactions. Free Press
Nazari, M., & Karimpour, S. (2022). The role of emotion labor in English language teacher identity construction: An activity theory perspective. System, 107(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102811
Nazari, M., Seyri, H., & Karimpour, S. (2023). Novice language teacher emotion labor and identity construction: A community of practice perspective. Teaching and Teacher Education, 127, Article 104110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104110
Ordono, T. R. (2023). A cross-sectional exploration of EFL teachers’ emotions, emotional labor, and identity [Master's thesis, Soka University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Reeve, J. (2018). Understanding motivation and emotion (7th ed). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Stets, J.E., & Trettevik, R. (2020). Emotions in identity theory. In J. E. Stets, J. H. Turner (eds.), Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions: Volume II, Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9130-4_3
Sutton, R. E., & Wheatley, K. F. (2003). Teachers’ emotions and teaching: A review of the literature and directions for future research. Educational Psychology Review, 15(4), 327-358. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1026131715856
Uitto, M., Jokikokko, K., & Estola, E. (2015). Virtual special issue on teachers and emotions in Teaching and teacher education (TATE) in 1985–2014. Teaching and Teacher Education, 50, 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.05.008
Wentzel, K. R. (2016). Teacher-student relationships. In K. R. Wentzel & D. B. Miele (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 211-230). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315773384-18
White, C. (2018). The emotional turn in applied linguistics and TESOL: Significance, challenges and prospects. In J.D.D. Martinez Agudo (Ed.), Emotions in second language teaching: Theory, research and teacher education (pp. 19 – 34). Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75438-3_2
Zembylas, M. (2003). Caring for teacher emotion: Reflections on teacher self-development. Studies in philosophy and education, 22(2), 103-125. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1022293304065