Background: Creativity greatly helps English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers flourish and succeed in the teaching profession. Given the immense influence of creativity on EFL teachers’ professional success, it is crucial to ascertain the factors that trigger teachers to bring more creativity into the educational setting. To address this necessity, many scholars to date have probed the role of various personal factors in teachers’ creativity. Nevertheless, the contextual factors that encourage teachers to adopt creative teaching have somehow been disregarded by both educational and L2 researchers. Purpose: To bridge this gap, the present study addressed the role of two contextual factors, namely job satisfaction (JS) and principals’ leadership behavior (PLB), in EFL teachers’ creativity. Furthermore, this study assessed the potential association between JS, PLB, and teacher creativity. Research Design: The study employed a quantitative research design using self-report scales and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to explore relationships among the variables. Study Sample: A total of 339 English teachers were selected from different schools and colleges in China. Data Collection and/or Analysis: Three self-report scales were distributed among the participants to investigate their perceptions of PLB, JS, and creativity. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was run through the latest version of the Mplus program to analyze participants’ perceptions. Results: Results indicated that both PLB and JS are closely related to Chinese EFL teachers’ creativity. Results also demonstrated that PLB and JS can bring about positive and meaningful changes in Chinese EFL teachers’ creativity. Conclusions: The findings suggest that principals’ leadership behavior and teachers’ job satisfaction play pivotal roles in fostering creativity among Chinese EFL teachers. The results of the current study would be instructive and beneficial for all educational principals, notably those working in language education settings.
AkyıldızS. T.ÇelikV. (2020). Thinking outside the box: Turkish EFL teachers’ perceptions of creativity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 36, Article 100649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100649
2.
AmtuO.SiahayaA.TaliakJ. (2019). Improve teacher creativity through leadership and principal management. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 23(1), 1–17.
3.
BolinF. (2007). A study of teacher job satisfaction and factors that influence it. Chinese Education & Society, 40(5), 47–64. https://doi.org/10.2753/CED1061-1932400506
4.
ChA. H.AhmadS.MalikM.BatoolA. (2017). Principals' leadership styles and teachers' job satisfaction: A correlation study at secondary level. Bulletin of Education and Research, 39(3), 45–56.
5.
DaiK.WangY. (2023). Investigating the interplay of Chinese EFL teachers’ proactive personality, flow, and work engagement. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2174128
6.
DerakhshanA.GreenierV.FathiJ. (2023). Exploring the interplay between a loving pedagogy, creativity, and work engagement among EFL/ESL teachers: A multinational study. Current Psychology, 42(26), 22803–22822. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03371-w
7.
ErE. (2024). The relationship between principal leadership and teacher practice: Exploring the mediating effect of teachers’ beliefs and professional learning. Educational Studies, 50(2), 166–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2021.1936458
8.
ErdelD.TakkaçM. (2020). Instructor leadership in EFL classrooms and the outcomes: The effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles. TEFLIN Journal: A Publication on the Teaching & Learning of English, 31(1), 70–87. https://doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v31i1/70-87
9.
FanJ.WangY. (2022). English as a foreign language teachers’ professional success in the Chinese context: The effects of well-being and emotion regulation. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 952503. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.952503
10.
FarajzadehR.AlaviniaP. (2022). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ creativity, motivation and job satisfaction: The role of gender, teaching experience and teaching context. Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice, 14(29), 41–60. https://doi.org/10.30495/JAL.2022.690027
11.
FathiJ.NaderiM. (2023). Exploring the roles of teachers’ creative self-efficacy and growth mindset in predicting teaching for creativity: Focus on EFL teachers. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 15(31), 66–82. https://doi.org/10.22034/elt.2022.53600.2511
12.
GraenG. B.Uhl-BienM. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. The leadership quarterly, 6(2), 219–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(95)90036-5
13.
GreenierV.FathiJ.BehzadpoorS. F. (2023). Teaching for creativity in an EFL context: The predictive roles of school climate, teaching enthusiasm, and metacognition. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 50, Article 101419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101419
14.
HanJ.GaoC.YangJ. (2021). Chinese university EFL teachers’ perceived support, innovation, and teaching satisfaction in online teaching environments: The mediation of teaching efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 761106–761110. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.761106
15.
HanW. (2022). Chinese English as a foreign language teachers’ job satisfaction, resilience, and their psychological well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 800417. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.800417
16.
HanW.AbdrahimN. A. (2023). The role of teachers’ creativity in higher education: A systematic literature review and guidance for future research. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 48, Article 101302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101302
17.
HerzbergF.MausnerB.SyndermanB. S. (1959). The motivation to work. Wiley& Sons.
18.
HidayatD. N.FitriahF.MahlilM.MasonJ. (2023). Factors impacting English teachers’ creativity in teaching English as a foreign language in Indonesia. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(1), 155–173. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i1.26145
19.
HuaY.YangY. (2024). Early childhood preservice teachers’ beliefs of creativity, creative individuals and creative environment: Perspectives from China. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 51, Article 101441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101441
20.
HuangL.HuangY.ZhouS. (2023). Examining principal leadership effects on teacher professional learning in China: A multilevel analysis. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 51(6), 1278–1300. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432211041626
21.
HuangX.Chin-HsiL.MingyaoS.PengX. (2021). What drives teaching for creativity? Dynamic componential modeling of the school environment, teacher enthusiasm, and metacognition. Teaching and Teacher Education, 107, Article 103491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103491
22.
IsraR. (2020). The role of school leadership in supporting teacher creativity to improve student learning outcomes in SMK Negeri 1 Mubarakiya is coming. Confrontation. Journal of Cultural, Economic and Social Change, 7(4), 293–302.
23.
KhanyR.GhoreishiM. (2014). One the relationship between teachers’ sense of responsibility and transformational leadership style. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 136(9), 302–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.05.333
24.
KimathiM. K. (2017). Influence of principals’ leadership styles on teachers’ job satisfaction in public secondary schools in Meru south sub-county, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 5(11), 28–34. https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol5.iss11.820
25.
KlaeijsenA.VermeulenM.MartensR. (2017). Teachers’ innovative behaviour: The importance of basic psychological need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and occupational self-efficacy. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 62(5), 769–782. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2017.1306803
26.
KouzesJ. M.PosnerB. Z. (2023). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations. Sons.
27.
LiS. (2022). Chinese English as a foreign language teachers’ immunity and mindfulness as predictors of their work engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 874356. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.874356
28.
LiuS.HallingerP.FengD. (2016). Supporting the professional learning of teachers in China: Does principal leadership make a difference?Teaching and Teacher Education, 59(2), 79–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.023
29.
MaY. (2022). The effect of teachers’ self-efficacy and creativity on English as a foreign language learners’ academic achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 872147. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.872147
30.
MelialaE. P.PurbaP. W. R.PanjaitanL.DoloksaribuL.TariganN. W. P. (2021). An analysis of English teachers’ creativity in media-based learning at the tenth-grade students. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 9(1), 105–110. https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v9i1.3388
31.
MirsultanN.MarimuthuT. (2021). The relationship of transformational and transactional principal leadership on teacher job satisfaction and secondary student performance in Subang Jaya, Malaysia. Open Journal of Leadership, 10(03), 241–256. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojl.2021.103016
32.
MulyaniH.MeirawanD.RahmadaniA. (2020). Increasing school effectiveness through principals’ leadership and teachers’ teaching performance, is it possible?Cakrawala Pendidikan, 39(2), 279–292. https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v39i2.28864
33.
NgL. T.RiveraJ. P. R. (2018). Exploring transformational leadership and fellowship in a cultural context: The case of the Philippines. Asia-Pacific Social Science Review, 17(3), 136–141.
34.
PishghadamR.KhodadadyE.ZabihiR. (2011). Learner creativity in foreign language achievement. European Journal of Educational Studies, 3(2), 465–472.
35.
QiJ.DerakhshanA. (2023). Chinese EFL teachers’ desire to attend professional development programs: Exploring the role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Porta Linguarum, 41, 311–327. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi2023c.29656
36.
QiS.DerakhshanA. (2025). Positive emotions fuel creativity: Exploring the role of passion and enjoyment in Chinese EFL teachers' creativity in light of the investment theory of creativity. Applied Linguistics Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2024-0109
37.
RichardsJ. C. (2013). Creativity in language teaching. Iranian Journal Language Teaching Resistant, 1(2), 19–43.
38.
RubensteinL. D.McCoachD. B.SiegleD. (2013). Teaching for creativity scales: An instrument to examine teachers’ perceptions of factors that allow for the teaching of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 25(3), 324–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2013.813807
39.
SimmonsA. L.SowerV. E. (2012). Leadership sagacity and its relationship with individual creative performance and innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 15(3), 298–309. https://doi.org/10.1108/14601061211243648
40.
SkaalvikE. M.SkaalvikS. (2017). Motivated for teaching? Associations with school goal structure, teacher self-efficacy, job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67(2), 152–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.006
41.
SternbergR. J. (2017). Creativity from start to finish: A straight-A model of creative process and its relation to intelligence. Journal of Creative Behavior, 54(2), 229–241. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.223
42.
SunJ. (2022). Grit and resilience as predictors of creativity among Chinese English as a foreign language teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 923313. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.923313
43.
SunX.LiJ.MengL. (2021). Reflection on EFL/ESL teachers’ emotional creativity and students L2 engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 758931. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.758931
44.
VygotskyL. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. Readings on the Development of Children, 23(3), 34–41.
45.
WangJ. W.DerakhshanA. (2025). Ameliorating the psychological well-being of Chinese and Iranian teachers in English classrooms: A cross-cultural analysis of the role of job satisfaction and exemplary leadership behaviour. European Journal of Education, 60(1), Article e12877. https://doi.org/10.1111/EJED.12877
46.
WangY.DerakhshanA.SolhiM. (2025). Dispositions towards loving pedagogy, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy as predictors of EFL teachers’ work engagement: A multinational study. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688251353132
47.
WangX.GaoY.SunF.WangQ. (2024a). Unveiling the tapestry of teacher belief research: Tracing the present and forging the future through bibliometric analysis.Current. Psychology, 43(17), 15659–15672. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05546-5
48.
WangL.KokotsakiD. (2018). Primary school teachers’ conceptions of creativity in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 29(3), 115–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.06.002
49.
WangP. (2020). Core job characteristic and uncertainty avoidance: Into the black box of transformational leadership effect on creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 54(2), 311–322. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.367
50.
WangW.DerakhshanA. (2024). Contextual factors shaping the professional identity of Chinese teachers in English as a Foreign Language instructional context: Exploring the role of school climate and administrator leadership behavior. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12653. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12653
51.
WangY.DerakhshanA.RahimpourH. (2022). Developing resilience among Chinese and Iranian EFL teachers: A multi-dimensional cross-cultural study. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(6), 2111–2128. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2042540
52.
WangY. L.PanZ. (2023). Modeling the effect of Chinese EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and resilience on their work engagement: A structural equation modeling analysis. Sage Open, 13(4), 21582440231214329. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231214329
53.
WangY. S.XinY. H.ChenL. M. (2024). Navigating the emotional landscape: Insights into resilience, engagement, and burnout among Chinese high school English as a Foreign Language learners. Learning and Motivation, 86, Article 101978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.101978
54.
WangY. X.WangY. L. (2023). Exploring Chinese EFL pre-service teachers’ perceptions of self-directed professional development: The benefits and challenges disclosed. In Porta Linguarum an international journal of Foreign Language teaching and learning (pp. 29–46). Universidad de Granada. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi2023c.29623
55.
XueL. (2021). Challenges and resilience-building: A narrative inquiry study on a mid-career Chinese EFL teacher. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(3), 758925. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.758925
56.
YanY.ZhangJ. (2025). Exploring the Interplay of Academic Resilience, Cognitive Appraisals of GenAI, and Academic Engagement Among Pre‐Service Chinese as a Foreign Language Teachers. European Journal of Education, 60(3), e70202. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70202
57.
YastibasA. E.BaturayM. H. (2021). Association of organizational learning with leadership, job satisfaction and engagement in an EFL setting. JET (Journal of English Teaching), 7(2), 101–117.
58.
YüceE.KrukM.DerakhshanA. (2023). Metacognitive knowledge and openness to diversity and challenge among Turkish pre-service EFL teachers: The mediating role of creative self-efficacy. Thinking Skills and Creativity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101386
59.
ZhangL.WuT.LiuL.RenP.LinC. (2022). The relationship between Chinese preschool principal leadership styles and teacher leadership: Exploring the mediating effect of psychological capital. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1006184. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1006184
60.
ZhiR.DerakhshanA. (2024). Modelling the interplay between resilience, emotion regulation and psychological well-being among Chinese English language teachers: The mediating role of self-efficacy beliefs. European Journal of Education, 59(3), Article e12643. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12643
61.
ZhiR.WangY. (2023). English as a foreign language teachers’ professional success, loving pedagogy and creativity: A structural equation modeling approach. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 49, Article 101370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101370
62.
ZhiR.WangY. X.DerakhshanA. (2024). On the role of academic buoyancy and self-efficacy in predicting teachers’ work engagement: A case of Chinese English as a foreign language teachers. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 131(2), 612–629. https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125231222398
63.
ZhongC.LyuK. (2022). Scaffolding junior middle school students’ engagement in online project-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study from East China. Sage Open, 12(4), 21582440221131815. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221131815
