Exploring the interplay between well-being, mindfulness, creativity, and work engagement among EFL teachers

Abstract

Engagement is universally recognized as a pivotal element contributing to the success of teachers. Consequently, significant emphasis has been placed on understanding this construct. Given the substantial impact of emotional aspects on the teachers’ educational path, it is postulated that other factors, such as well-being, mindfulness, and creativity, may play noteworthy roles in the academic context, despite their relatively unknown territory in research. For this purpose, a sample of 563 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, both male and female, involved in English education across diverse regions in China, willingly participated in the study. Subsequently, they were tasked with filling out four questionnaires related to engagement, well-being, mindfulness, and creativity in the EFL context. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed and this model revealed that there was a strong positive association between mindfulness and work engagement. Creativity and work engagement were found to be strongly positively correlated and in the same vein, well-being and work engagement were found to be strongly positively correlated. Ultimately, the study provides several suggestions for stakeholders in the realm of language teaching within the EFL context.