Previous research has certified the interconnection of psycho-affective factors and English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ emotions and practices. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the correlates and determinants of teacher work engagement across cultures. To fill this gap, the present multinational study aimed to investigate the correlations and predicting roles of EFL teachers’ dispositions toward loving pedagogy (DTLP), self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and work engagement. A total of 779 EFL teachers were selected from China, Iran, and Turkey to complete the surveys. The results of confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis showed significant relationships among teachers’ DTLP, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and work engagement. Moreover, multiple regression analysis suggested that teacher work engagement could be predicted by all three antecedents. The study discusses the findings and outlines implications for EFL teachers and teacher educators, and it is hoped that, in future research, scholars from different educational backgrounds will further explore the role of psycho-affective factors and emotionality in EFL teachers’ professional development and work engagement.
AldridgeJ.M.FraserB.J. (2016). Teachers’ views of their school climate and its relationship with teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Learning Environments Research, 19(2), 291–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-015-9198-x
2.
Azari NoughabiM.GhonsoolyB.JahedizadehS. (2024). Modeling the associations between EFL teachers’ immunity, L2 grit, and work engagement. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(8), 3158–3173. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2088766
BarcelosA.M.F.CoelhoH.S.H. (2016). Language learning and teaching: What’s love got to do with it. Positive Psychology in SLA, 97, 130–144.
6.
BarcelosA.M.F.OxfordR.L.OliveraM.M.HarrisonM.GregersenT. (2020). Peace-building in language education. Multilingual Matters.
7.
BielakJ.Mystkowsks-WiertelakA. (2022). Language teachers’ interpersonal learner-directed emotion-regulation strategies. Language Teaching Research, 26(6),1082–1105. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820912352
8.
ChenS. (2023). Modeling the effect of loving pedagogy dispositions and teacher self-efficacy on teacher burnout. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1157324. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1157324
9.
ColeP.M.MichelM.K.TetiL.O.D. (1994). The development of emotion regulation and dysregulation: A clinical perspective. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 73–100.
10.
DaiK.WangY. (2025). Investigating the interplay of Chinese EFL teachers’ proactive personality, flow, and work engagement. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 46(2), 209–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2174128
11.
DerakhshanA. (2025a). Loving pedagogy in second and foreign language education: Underlying components, measurement, and ecological systems. Springer.
12.
DerakhshanA. (2025b). Positioning loving pedagogy practice in the heart of second/foreign language (L2) education: Theorization and implementation approaches unveiled. In VanderheidenE.MayerC.H.BarcelosA.M.F., (Eds.), Pedagogical love in adult education. Springer.
13.
DerakhshanA.DolińskiD.ZhalehK.EnayatM.J.FathiJ. (2022). A mixed-methods cross-cultural study of teacher care and teacher-student rapport in Iranian and Polish University students’ engagement in pursuing academic goals in an L2 context. System, 106, Article 102790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102790
14.
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
15.
DewaeleJ.M. (2020). The emotional rollercoaster ride of foreign language learners and teachers: Sources and interactions of classroom emotions. In SimonsM.SmitsT.F.H. (Eds.), Language education and emotions (pp. 207–222). Routledge.
16.
DingK.ZhuL.YanX. (2022). The relationship between EFL teachers’ personality traits, communication strategies, and work engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 855837. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.855837
17.
DobranskyN.D.FrymierA.B. (2004). Developing teacher-student relationships through out of class communication. Communication Quarterly, 52(3), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370409370193
18.
FathiJ.GreenierV.DerakhshanA. (2021). Self-efficacy, reflection, and burnout among Iranian EFL teachers: the mediating role of emotion regulation. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 9(2), 13–37.
19.
FathiJ.ZhangL.J.ArefianM.H. (2023). Testing a model of EFL teachers’ work engagement: The roles of teachers’ professional identity, L2 grit, and foreign language teaching enjoyment. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 62(4), 2087–2119. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2023-0024
20.
FedericiR.A.SkaalvikE.M. (2012). Teacher and principal self-efficacy: Relations with autonomy and emotional exhaustion. In ShariB.L. (Eds.), Self-efficacy in school and community settings (pp. 125–150). Nova Science Publishers Inc.
21.
FornellC.LarckerD.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
22.
FredricksonB.L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.56.3.218
23.
FreireP.MacedoD.KoikeD.OliveiraA.FreireA.M.A. (2018). Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare teach. Routledge.
24.
GhiasvandF.SharifpourP. (2024). “An L2 education without love is not education at all”: A phenomenographic study of undergraduate EFL students’ perceptions of pedagogical love. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 9(14), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-023-00233-1
25.
GhiasvandF.JahanbakhshA.KoganiM. (2024). Probing the bond between EFL teachers’ emotional literacy skills and professional development. Porta Linguarum, 41, 241–257. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi41.27525
26.
GkonouC.MillerE.R. (2019). Caring and emotional labour: Language teachers’ engagement with anxious learners in private language school classrooms. Language Teaching Research, 23, 372–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817728739
27.
GongS.ChaiX.DuanT.ZhongL.JiaoY. (2013). Chinese teachers’ emotion regulation goals and strategies. Psychology, 4(11), 870–877. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2013.411125
28.
GreenierV.DerakhshanA.FathiJ. (2021). Emotion regulation and psychological well-being in teacher work engagement: A case of British and Iranian English language teachers. System, 97, Article 102446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102446
29.
GregersenT.MacIntyreP.D. (2021). Acting locally to integrate positive psychology and peace: Practical applications for language teaching and learning. In OxfordR.L.OliveroM.M.HarrisonM. (Eds.), Peacebuilding in language education: Innovations in theory and practice (pp. 177–195). Multilingual Matters.
30.
GrimmerT. (2021). Developing a loving pedagogy in the early years: How love fits with professional practice. Routledge.
31.
GrossJ.J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2, 271–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271
GrossJ.J.JohnO.P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 348–362.
34.
HanY.WangY. (2021). Investigating the correlation among Chinese EFL teachers’ self-efficacy, work engagement, and reflection. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 763234. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.763234
35.
HiverP.Al-HoorieA.H.VittaJ.P.WuJ. (2024). Engagement in language learning: A systematic review of 20 years of research methods and definitions. Language Teaching Research, 28(1), 201–230. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211001289
36.
HuL.BentlerP.M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55.
37.
JanikM.RothmannS. (2016). Engagement of secondary school teachers in Namibia: Relational context effects. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 26(4), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2016.1208921
38.
Kesen MutluA.SolhiM. (2024). Unveiling the interplay between EFL teachers’ cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation, and foreign language teaching anxiety: A structural equation modeling approach. Learning and Motivation, 87, Article 102022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102022
39.
KlassenR.M.TzeV.M. (2014). Teachers’ self-efficacy, personality, and teaching effectiveness: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 12, 59–76.
40.
KlassenR.M.YerdelenS.DurksenT.L. (2013). Measuring teacher engagement: Development of the engaged teachers scale (ETS). Frontline Learning Research, 1(2), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v1i2.44
41.
KlineR.B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. The Guilford Press.
42.
LeeM.PekrunR.TaxerJ.L.SchutzP.A.VoglE.XieX. (2016). Teachers’ emotions and emotion management: Integrating emotion regulation theory with emotional labor research. Social Psychology of Education, 19, 843–863.
43.
LiB.MiaoG. (2022). On the role of Chinese English as a foreign language: Teachers’ well-being and loving pedagogy in their academic engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 941226. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.941226
44.
LiL.LvL. (2022). The impact of Chinese EFL teachers’ emotion regulation and resilience on their success. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 898114. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.898114
45.
LiY.WangX. (2024). The emergence of loving pedagogy in the L2 affective domain: How affective pedagogy accounts for Chinese EFL teachers’ professional success and job satisfaction?International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 26(3), 239–250. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2023.029611
46.
LiangW.SongH.SunR. (2022). Can a professional learning community facilitate teacher well-being in China? The mediating role of teaching self-efficacy. Educational Studies, 48(3), 358–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2020.1755953
47.
LiuH.ChenB.LiX.ZhouX. (2024). Exploring the predictive role of self-efficacy on engagement among EFL teachers in online teaching: The mediation of buoyancy. Asian Pacific Education Researcher, 33, 879–888. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-024-00820-x
48.
LiuH.LuX.ChenB.WangX.XiaM. (2024). Uncovering the mediating role of teacher anxiety on the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teacher work engagement in the online context. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 26(12), 997–1007. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.057771
49.
LiuL.FathiJ.AllahveysiS.P.KamranK. (2023). A model of teachers’ growth mindset, teaching enjoyment, work engagement, and teacher grit among EFL teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1137357. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1137357
50.
LiuS.YüceE.SolhiM.ŞahinK.Azari NoughabiM. (2024). The relationship between language teachers’ enthusiasm and job satisfaction: Investigating the mediating role of foreign language teaching enjoyment. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2024.2382886
51.
LoremanT. (2011). Love as pedagogy. Springer Science & Business Media.
52.
MacIntyreP.D.RossJ.TalbotK.MercerS.GregersenT.BangaC.A. (2019). Stressors, personality and wellbeing among language teachers. System, 82, 26–38.
MinghuiL.LeiH.XiaomengC.PotměšilcM. (2018). Teacher efficacy, work engagement, and social support among Chinese special education school teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00648
OzkaraB. (2019). An investigation into the relationship between Turkish EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and burnout level. Journal of Family Counseling and Education, 4(1), 12–24.
57.
ReeveJ. (2013). How students create motivationally supportive learning environments for themselves: The concept of agentic engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 579.
58.
RothbardN.P. (2001). Enriching or depleting? The dynamics of engagement in work and family roles. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(4), 655–684. https://doi.org/10.2307/3094827
59.
SchaufeliW.B.BakkerA.B. (2010). Defining and measuring work engagement: Bringing clarity to the concept. In BakkerA.B.LeiterM.P. (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 10–24). Psychology Press.
60.
SchaufeliW.B.SalanovaM.González-RomáV.BakkerA.B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two-sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92.
61.
SkaalvikE.M.SkaalvikS. (2019). Teacher self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy: Relations with perceived job resources and job demands, feeling of belonging, and teacher engagement. Creative Education, 10(07), 1400–1424. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.107104
62.
SkinnerE.A.KindermannT.A.FurrerC.J. (2009). A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: Conceptualization and assessment of children’s behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 69, 493–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164408323233
63.
SolhiM.Ünsal-GörkemoğluB.Azari NoughabiM.AtayD. (2024). Do well-being and emotion regulation predict L2-teacher grit?Porta Linguarum, IX, 153–171. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.viIX.29883
64.
SongM. (2022). Chinese English as foreign language teachers’ self-efficacy and motivation as predictors of burnout. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 899687. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.899687
65.
TalbotK.MercerS. (2018). Exploring university ESL/EFL teachers’ emotional well-being and emotional regulation in the United States, Japan and Austria. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 41(4), 410–432.
66.
ThompsonR.A.LewisM.D.CalkinsS.D. (2008). Reassessing emotion regulation. Child Development Perspectives, 2(3), 124–131.
67.
Tschannen-MoranM.HoyA.W. (2007). The differential antecedents of self-efficacy beliefs of novice and experienced teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(6), 944–956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.05.
68.
Van Der WantA.C.Den BrokP.BeijaardD.BrekelmansM.ClaessensL.C.PenningsH.J. (2019). The relation between teachers’ interpersonal role identity and their self-efficacy, burnout and work engagement. Professional Development Education, 45, 488–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2018.1511453
69.
WangX. (2023). A conceptual review on EFL teachers’ motivation and engagement in flipped classrooms: A social networking platform. Language Related Research, 14(3), 239–264. https://doi.org/10.29252/LRR.14.3.10
70.
WangY.DerakhshanA.Azari NoughabiM. (2024). The interplay of EFL teachers’ immunity, work engagement, and psychological well-being: Evidence from four Asian countries. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(8), 3241–3257. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2092625
71.
WangY.DerakhshanA.PanZ. (2022). Positioning an agenda on a loving pedagogy in second language acquisition: Conceptualization, practice, and research. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 894190. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894190
72.
WangY.DerakhshanA.RahimpourH. (2024). 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
73.
WangQ.LiuZ.BernatE. M.VivinoA. A.LiangZ.BaiS.LiuC.YangB.ZhangZ. (2021). Pretending to be better than they are? Emotional manipulation in imprisoned fraudsters. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 562269. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.562269
74.
WangY.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.
75.
XieF. (2021). A study on Chinese EFL teachers’ work engagement: The predictability power of emotion regulation and teacher resilience. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 735969. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.735969
76.
YinH. (2016). Knife-like mouth and tofu-like heart: Emotion regulation by Chinese teachers in classroom teaching. Social Psychology of Education, 19, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-015-9319-5
77.
YinL.C.LoremanT.Abd MajidR.AliasA. (2019). The dispositions towards loving pedagogy (DTLP) scale: Instrument development and demographic analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 86, Article 102884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102884
78.
ZeeM.KoomenH.M.Y. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981–1015. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626801
79.
ZhangX.WangY. (2024). Chinese EFL teachers’ perceptions of positive emotionality and emotion regulation strategies: A qualitative study. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-024-00900-y
80.
ZhaoS.LiM. (2021). Reflection on loving pedagogy and students’ engagement in EFL/ESL classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 757697. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.757697
81.
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
82.
ZhiY.DerakhshanA. (2025). An investigation into Chinese English teachers’ organizational commitment: Do emotion regulation and workplace buoyancy matter?The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 34, 689–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-024-00888-5
83.
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
84.
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
