The Relative Importance of Growth Teaching Mindset, Emotions, and Self-Efficacy in Teachers’ Grit

Abstract

Considering the demanding and challenging nature of the teaching profession in general and foreign/second language (L2) teaching contexts in particular, there is a need to examine protective psychological resources such as grit—conceptualized as the inclination to show consistent interest and perseverance in times of setbacks and failures—among L2 teachers. Given the recently emerging status of the L2 research on grit and the multitude of factors that might potentially affect teachers’ grit, this study examined the roles of growth teaching mindset, positive and negative emotions (enjoyment, anxiety, and anger), and self-efficacy in L2 teachers’ grit. The participants were 215 Iranian teachers who were recruited via convenience sampling and responded to four questionnaires: Sudina et al.’s L2 Teacher Grit Scale, Frenzel et al.’s Teacher Emotions Scale, Nalipay et al.’s Growth Teaching Mindset Scale, and the short version of Tschannen-Moran and Hoy's Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale. The results indicated that all three factors significantly contributed to the teachers’ grit. Moreover, based on the results of relative weight analysis (RWA), the relative weights of enjoyment, followed by self-efficacy and growth teaching mindset, were significantly higher in predicting teachers’ grit while anxiety and anger had the lowest relative weight. Implications for promoting teachers’ enjoyment, self-efficacy, and growth teaching mindset as well as suggestions for future studies are presented.