The present study focuses on the relationship between teachers' emotions, their instructional behavior, and students' emotions in class. 149 students (55% female, Mage = 15.63 years) rated their teachers' emotions (joy, anger, anxiety) and instructional behavior, as well as their own emotions in an experience-sampling study across an average of 15 lessons in four different subject domains. Intraindividual, multilevel regression analyses revealed that perceived teachers' emotions and instructional behavior significantly predicted students' emotions. Results suggest that teachers' emotions are as important for students' emotions as teachers' instructional behavior. Theoretical implications for crossover theory and practical recommendations for teachers are discussed.

Emotional exhaustion (EE) is the core component in the study of teacher burnout, with significant impact on teachers’ professional lives. Yet, its relation to teachers’ emotional experiences and emotional labor (EL) during instruction remains unclear. Thirty-nine German secondary teachers were surveyed about their EE (trait), and via the experience sampling method on their momentary (state; N = 794) emotional experiences (enjoyment, anxiety, anger) and momentary EL (suppression, faking). Teachers reported that in 99 and 39% of all lessons, they experienced enjoyment and anger, respectively, whereas they experienced anxiety less frequently. Teachers reported suppressing or faking their emotions during roughly a third of all lessons. Furthermore, EE was reflected in teachers’ decreased experiences of enjoyment and increased experiences of anger. On an intra-individual level, all three emotions predict EL, whereas on an inter-individual level, only anger evokes EL. Explained variances in EL (within: 39%, between: 67%) stress the relevance of emotions in teaching and within the context of teacher burnout. Beyond implying the importance of reducing anger, our findings suggest the potential of enjoyment lessening EL and thereby reducing teacher burnout.

Although teacher enthusiasm is a relevant variable in the teaching context, a clear definition is still lacking. Research on teacher enthusiasm is characterized by ambiguous conceptualizations of enthu siasm as either an affective characteristic of teachers or behaviors of expressiveness. Integrating these two notions, a new conceptualization of dispositional teacher enthusiasm, defined by teachers' positive affect and positive emotional expressivity, was developed. It was hypothesized that dispositional teacher enthusiasm would relate to students' interest, mediated by students' perceived teacher enthusiasm. Based on a correlational study design, secondary teachers (N ¼ 75) from Switzerland reported on their enthusiasm, complemented by student ratings (N ¼ 1523) on perceived enthusiasm and interest. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that dispositional teacher enthusiasm positively pre dicted students' interest, which was fully mediated by students' perceived enthusiasm, providing the basis of a valid definition of teacher enthusiasm. Based on this integrative definition, implications for future research are discussed.