The facilitating role of English as a foreign language teachers’ positive psychological capital and cognitive flexibility in their professional success

Abstract

English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ professional success has been claimed to depend on numerous factors in the literature. However, the interactive influence of psycho‐affective and cognitive factors on this construct has been neglected. To address this gap, this quantitative study used three scales to test an associational model of positive psychological capital (PPC), cognitive flexibility, and professional success. It also tried to uncover if PPC and cognitive flexibility could predict EFL teachers’ professional success. To do so, 533 Chinese EFL teachers took part in a survey. The results of structural equation modeling, correlation analysis, and multiple regression showed a strong and positive link among teachers’ PPC, cognitive flexibility, and professional success. Furthermore, it was revealed that PPC and cognitive flexibility could collectively predict about 53% of the variations in Chinese EFL teachers’ professional success. The study discusses the results and presents some implications for teachers, teacher trainers, and authorities, who can work on the psycho‐affective and cognitive aspects of teacher professionalism and success.