Modeling the interplay between emotion regulation, self-efficacy, and L2 grit in higher education

Abstract

Teaching in higher education is critical and fraught with potential vicissitudes, which necessitates the presence of efficient professors armed with positive attributes to perform effectively. Although it is generally accepted that emotion regulation (ER) has numerous benefits for language teachers, in particular university professors, little is known about how it interacts with two other important constructs, i.e., self-efficacy and L2 grit. Furthermore, the effect of ER on L2 teacher grit has not been sufficiently investigated. To fill this gap, the current study was to test a structural model of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university professors’ ER, self-efficacy, and L2 grit. The participants were 356 Iranian EFL university professors who completed the Language Teacher Emotion Regulation Inventory (LTERI), the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and the L2-Teacher Grit Scale (L2TGS). The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that ER and self-efficacy were strong predictors of L2 grit. Moreover, the significant role of self-efficacy on ER was discovered. The implications of this study may foster effective teaching in higher education, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on education.

Delving into the relationship between teacher emotion regulation, self-efficacy, engagement, and anger: A focus on English as a foreign language teachers

“…This finding is in accord with those of Fathi et al (2020), Heydarnejad et al (2021a), Liu H. et al (2021), and Amirian et al (2022) as well as Xiyun et al (2022). Additionally, Cansoy et al (2020) and Zheng et al (2022) confirmed that teacher emotional wellbeing and self-efficacy beliefs are interrelated. According to the LTER model (Heydarnejad et al, 2021b), emotion regulation is the output of appraisal, attention deployment, situation modification, seeking social support, situation selection, and suppression.…”

“…According to the LTER model ( Heydarnejad et al, 2021b ), emotion regulation is the output of appraisal, attention deployment, situation modification, seeking social support, situation selection, and suppression. When teachers use effective emotion regulation strategies, the better they can manage and modify their emotional experiences ( Li et al, 2022 ; Zheng et al, 2022 ). Effective emotion regulation can affect teachers’ sense of efficacy.…”

“…In contrast, teachers with a low sense of self-efficacy are apt to lose faith in their abilities ( Barni et al, 2019 ). The research history on teacher self-efficacy shines back on the reciprocal relationships between self-efficacy and an array of positive teacher and student-related issues ( Martin and Mulvihill, 2019 ; Amirian et al, 2022 ; Ma, 2022 ; Zheng et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In an attempt to further clarify the predictive role of EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in affecting the psychological wellbeing in the Iranian context, a survey was conducted by Fathi et al (2020) , in which they concluded that teacher self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of psychological wellbeing than collective teacher efficacy. Likewise, Zheng et al (2022) investigated the contributions of self-efficacy and emotion regulation to L2 teacher grit. Their findings suggest that self-efficacy and emotion regulation are major determinants of university professors’ L2 grit.…”

Modeling the impact of L2 grit on EFL learners’ core of self-assessment and foreign language anxiety

“…Learners’ L2 grit is an amalgamation of perseverance of attempt and passion for long-term goals. Previous studies in the realm of grit reflected that this construct is significantly related to other teacher and student-related constructs, leading to the success of education (Shafiee Rad & Jafarpour, 2022 ; Steinmayr et al, 2018 ; Sudina et al, 2021 ; Sudina & Plonsky, 2021 ; Vadivel & Beena, 2019 ; Zheng et al, 2022 ). More specifically, the success of students in language learning is highly dependent on their effort and their passion for long-term goals; thus, L2 grit and its contribution to language assessment and academic achievement are of great importance.…”