The interplay among self-regulation, emotions and teaching styles in higher education: a path analysis approach

Abstract

PurposeFor this purpose, Teacher Self-Regulation Scale (TSRS), Emotions Questionnaire for Teachers (EQT) and Grasha's Teaching Style Inventory (TSI) were employed to gauge the influences of teacher self-regulation on university teachers' emotions and preferred teaching style. The participants of this study were 320 university teachers, majored in different branches of English (English Literature, English Teaching, English Translation), teaching in different universities of Iran. To shed light on the causal associations, a path analysis was run using LISREL 8.80.Design/methodology/approachFollowing the pivotal role of effective teaching on educational well-being, the present study delve into three significant teacher-related variables i.e. teacher self-regulation, emotions and teaching style. For this purpose, TSRS, EQT, and Grasha's TSI were employed to gauge the influences of teacher self-regulation on university teachers' emotions and preferred teaching style. The participants of this study were 320 university teachers, majored in different branches of English (English Literature, English Teaching, English Translation), teaching in different universities of Iran. To shed light on the causal associations, a path analysis was run using LISREL 8.80.FindingsBased on the findings, teacher self-regulation predicts pleasant emotions positively; whereas, it predicts unpleasant emotions in a negative direction. The results also demonstrate that teacher self-regulation positively and significantly predicts student-centred styles (Facilitator and Delegator), and the reverse is true for teacher-centred styles (Formal Authority, Personal Model, and Expert).Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies may advance the possible relationships among the subscales of teacher self-regulation, teacher emotion and teaching style. Also, further investigations are suggested to target the teacher self-regulation, teacher emotion and teaching style in enhancing language learners' achievement.Practical implicationsIn effect, the findings of the current study contribute to the fields of teacher psychology and teacher education. The implications of this study may open another perspective into university teachers’ psychological well-being and professional development.Social implicationsThe implications of this study may redound to the advantage of policy makers, curriculum designers, teacher educators, as well as university teachers.Originality/valueThe implications of this study may redound to the advantage of policy-makers, curriculum designers, teacher educators and university teachers.

Measuring Language Teacher Emotion Regulation: Development and Validation of the Language Teacher Emotion Regulation Inventory at Workplace (LTERI)

“…Moreover, EFL university teachers with higher education appreciate emotion regulation strategies rooted more in self-regulation, self-awareness, reasoning, and higher-order thinking skills (Morris and King, 2020 ; Alipour et al, 2021 ; Heydarnejad et al, 2021 ). EFL high school teachers, on the other hand, mostly try to avoid challenging emotional situations or suppress their experienced emotions.…”

“…This is consistent with previous experimental surveys, though limited in L2 settings and quite rare among Iranian EFL settings (Hargreaves, 2001;Kunter et al, 2011;Richards, 2020;Fathi et al, 2021). Moreover, EFL university teachers with higher education appreciate emotion regulation strategies rooted more in selfregulation, self-awareness, reasoning, and higher-order thinking skills (Morris and King, 2020;Alipour et al, 2021;Heydarnejad et al, 2021). EFL high school teachers, on the other hand, mostly try to avoid challenging emotional situations or suppress their experienced emotions.…”

“…The teaching profession is bounded with different experienced emotions, which affect teachers' cognitions (Sutton and Wheatley, 2003;Sutton, 2004), motivation (Pekrun et al, 2002), efficacy beliefs and goals (Kaplan et al, 2002;Chen, 2018), memory, attention, and categorization (Sutton and Wheatley, 2003), self-regulation (Heydarnejad et al, 2017), immunity and autonomy (Azari Noughabi et al, 2020), pedagogical adoptions (Chen, 2020), forming a sense of professional identity (Day and Qing, 2009), self-efficacy (Burić et al, 2020), social well-being (Richards, 2020), teaching style (Heydarnejad et al, 2021), and consequently their students' learning and achievement (Frenzel, 2014). Among different emotions that teachers experience at work, they are expected to express pleasant emotions such as happiness, joy, and pride but down-regulate unpleasant emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety (Schaubroeck and Jones, 2000).…”

“…Teaching includes both mastering how to communicate subject matter to the learners and managing the emotional dimensions of education (Richards, 2020 ). In other words, the more teachers regulate their emotions, the more they are able to employ their mental faculties and in consequence, effective teaching is guaranteed (Alipour et al, 2021 ; Heydarnejad et al, 2021 ). More specifically, the attachment of rationality with emotionality as the two wings of teachers leads to efficient teaching (Chen and Cheng, 2021 ).…”

“…Emotional regulation acts as a modifier; it helps language teachers modulating responses triggered by emotional demands. To achieve emotion regulation goals, different strategies are used: self-awareness and self-regulation (Heydarnejad et al, 2021 ), reappraisal and adaptability (Burić et al, 2017 ), as well as suppression (Chang and Taxer, 2020 ), to name a few. Existing literature on teacher emotion regulation viewed emotion regulation through the lens of emotional labor (Philipp and Schüpbach, 2010 ) or suppression and cognitive reappraisal (Chang, 2013 ).…”