An Investigation into Iranian EAP Teachers’ Mindfulness and Job Satisfaction

Subject Areas : Journal of Studies in Learning and Teaching English

Parisa Dankoob ¹ , Ogholgol Nazari ²

1 - Department of English Language Teaching, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of English Language Teaching, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran

Received: 2024-07-15 Accepted : 2024-09-22 Published : 2024-11-19

Keywords: English for academic purposes, mindfulness, job satisfaction, positive psychology,

Abstract :

To meet the specific needs of learners, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses burden teachers with many challenges and stressful situations which in turn necessitates caring about EAP teachers’ positive emotions. Thus, this study investigated the levels of job satisfaction and mindfulness among Iranian EAP teachers. It also probed the differences among the EAP teachers with different demographic characteristics regarding their mindfulness and job satisfaction. Moreover, it examined the relationship between these two variables. To this end, data was collected from 100 Iranian EAP instructors with different demographics through two questionnaires on job satisfaction and mindfulness. The results indicated the levels of mindfulness and job satisfaction among Iranian EAP teachers. It was also found that EAP teachers differing in gender, age, and experience, but not in school of study, differed in their levels of job satisfaction and mindfulness. Furthermore, Pearson correlation showed a positive significant relationship between these two variables. Finally, some implications for EAP teachers and policymakers are presented. 

References:

Albrecht, N. J., Albrecht, P. M., & Cohen, M. (2012). Mindfully teaching in the classroom: a literature review. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(12). http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2012v37n12.2
Anthony, L. (2011). Products, processes and practitioners: A critical look at the importance of specificity in ESP. Taiwan International ESP Journal, 3(2), 1–18.
Basturkmen, H. (2010). Developing courses in English for specific purposes. Springer.
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: a proposed operational definition. Clinical psychology: Science and practice, 11(3), 230.
Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., and Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychol. Inquiry 18, 211–237. doi: 10.1080/10478400701598298
Byrne, B. M. (1999). The nomological network of teacher burnout: A literature review and empirically validated model. In R. Vandenberg, & A. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and preventing teacher burnout (pp. 15–37). Cambridge University Press.
Chen, J. (2010). Chinese middle school teacher job satisfaction and its relationships with teacher moving. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(3), 263-272. doi:10.1007/s12564-010-9085-1
Çiçek K., & Gürbüz, N. (2023). Exploring the impacts of mindfulness training for an EFL teacher: Insights from a narrative inquiry study. Issues in Educational Research, 33(2), 471-487.
Ding, A. & Campion, G. (2016). EAP teacher development. In K. Hyland, & P. Shaw (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English for academic purposes (pp. 547-559). Routledge.
Greenglass, E. R., & Burke, R. J. (2003). Teacher stress. In M. F. Dollard, A. H. Winefield, & H. R.Winefield (Eds.), Occupational stress in the service professions (pp. 213–236). Taylor & Francis.
Hatch, E., & Lazarton, A. (1991). The research manual: Design and statistics in applied linguistics. Heinle & Heinle Publications.
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The mMotivation to work. Routledge.
Huang, J. (2022). The role of English as a foreign language Teachers’ mindfulness and compassion in fostering students’ foreign language enjoyment. Front. Psychol. 13, 1-8. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.899298.
Hue, M. T., & Lau, N. S. (2015). Promoting well-being and preventing burnout in teacher education: A pilot study of a mindfulness-based program for pre-service teachers in Hong Kong. Teacher Development, 19(3), 381-401. doi: 10.1080/13664530.2015.1049748
Hughes, V. M. (2006). Teacher evaluation practices and teacher job satisfaction [Unpublished PhD thesis]. University of Missouri, Columbia.
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes. Cambridge University Press.
Jepson, E., & Forrest, S. (2006). Individual contributory factors in teacher stress: The role of achievement striving and occupational commitment. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(1), 183-197. doi: 10.1348/000709905X37299.
Jennings, P. A., Frank, J. L., Snowberg, K. E., Coccia, M. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2013). Improving classroom learning environments by Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE): Results of a randomized controlled trial. School Psychology Quarterly, 28(4), 374–390. doi:10.1037/spq0000035.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion.
Khajavy, G. H., MacIntyre, P. D., & Hariri, J. (2020). A closer look at grit and language mindset as predictors of foreign language achievement. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1-24.‏ doi:10.1017/S0272263120000480
Kostoulas, A., & Mercer, S. (2018). Conclusions: Lessons learned, promising perspectives. In S. Mercer &A. Kostoulas (Eds.), Language teacher psychology (pp. 330–336). Multilingual Matters.
Lester, P. E. (1984). Teacher job satisfaction questionnaire. In P. Lester and L. Bishop (Eds.), Handbook of tests and measurement education and the social sciences (pp. 147–150). Scarecrow press.
MacIntyre, P. D., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2019). Setting an agenda for positive psychology in SLA: Theory, practice, and research. The Modern Language Journal, 103(1), 262-274.‏ doi:10.1111/modl.12544
Morris, G., Mo, J. (2023). Exploring the employment motivation, job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of university English instructors in public institutions: a Chinese case study analysis. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10, (717), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02228-2
Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. Oxford University Press.
Rezai, A., Namaziandost, E., & Çakmak, F. (2021). Job satisfaction of Iranian EFL teachers: Exploring the role of gender, education level, teaching experience, and service location. Teaching English Language, 15(2), 201-228. https://doi.org/10.22132/TEL.[phone].
Richards, J. C. (2020). Exploring emotions in language teaching. RELC Journal, 51(3), 1–15. doi: 10.1177/0033688220927531
Rickert, N. P. (2016). Teacher mindfulness in the middle school classroom: Reliability and validity of a new scale [Doctoral dissertation]. Portland State University.
Robinson, P. C. (1991). ESP today: A practitioner's guide. Prentice Hall.
Roeser, R. W., Skinner, E., Beers, J., & Jennings, P. A. (2012). Mindfulness training and teachers' professional development: An emerging area of research and practice. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 167–173. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00238.x.
Sadeghi, K. & Sa’adatpourvahid, M. (2016) EFL teachers’ stress and job satisfaction: What contribution can teacher education make? Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research 4(3), 75-96.
Skaalvik, M. E. & Skaalvik, S. (2011 a). Teachers' feeling of belonging, exhaustion, and job satisfaction: the role of school goal structure and value consonance. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping: An International Journal, 24(4), 369-385, DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2010.544300.
Skaalvik, M. E. & Skaalvik, S. (2011 b). Teacher job satisfaction and motivation to leave the teaching profession: Relations with school context, feeling of belonging, and emotional exhaustion. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27 (6), 1029-1038.
Skaalvik, M. E. & Skaalvik, S. (2015). Job satisfaction, stress and coping strategies in the Teaching profession—What do teachers say? International Education Studies 8(3), 181-192.
Skinner, E. A., & Beers, J. (2016). Mindfulness and teachers’ coping in the classroom: A developmental and everyday resilience. In K. A. Schonert- Reichl and R. W. Roeser (Eds.), Handbook of mindfulness in education (pp. 99–118). Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3506-2_7
Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-386. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20237
Soodmand Afshar, H., & Doosti, M. (2016). An investigation into factors contributing to Iranian secondary school English teachers’ job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Research Papers in Education, 31(3), 274-298. doi: 10.1080/02671522.2015.1037335
Spector, P.E., (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, cause, and consequences. Sage.
Wang, N. (2022). EFL teachers’ mindfulness and emotion regulation in language context. Front. Psychol. 13, 1-4. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.877108
Xue, C. (2023). Mitigating EFL students’ academic disengagement: The role of teachers’ compassion and mindfulness in China. Heliyon, 9, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13150