A third-wave positive psychology approach to language teachers’ self-efficacy, self-concept, and motivation

Abstract

Recent reviews of the application of positive psychology (PP) in language education have identified a theoretical debate, the efficacy of PP interventions, and the nexus between culture and PP interventions as the three main underexplored issues. Furthermore, the need for PP to broaden its scope to include language teachers has been highlighted in the relevant body of literature. In response to these lacunae, the current explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined the interplay of self-efficacy, self-concept, and motivation among 286 Iranian language teachers, who were recruited through proportionate stratified random sampling, to test the validity of the E4MC (empathy, emotions, emotional intelligence, engagement [E4], motivation [M], and character strengths [C]) model of PP. Subsequently, a qualitative phase was designed in which 15 participants were purposively selected to attend an intervention course whereby they practiced 10 PP activities. Adopting a third-wave PP approach, the activities were divided into individualistic versus collectivistic cultural categories, reflecting the divergent perceptions of positivity inherent in these cultural paradigms. Structural regression modeling results yielded a high goodness-of-fit index, indicating that the hypothetical model which delineated the relationships among self-efficacy, self-concept, and motivation was valid. Notably, significant correlations were observed between motivation and self-efficacy, as well as between motivation and self-concept. Furthermore, thematic analysis of the teachers’ reflective journals underscored the efficacy of PP interventions. Data from focus group interviews and teachers’ evaluations of the interventions indicated a preference for collectivistic activities within the Iranian cultural context. Participants expressed a greater affinity for collectivistic interventions such as time capsules, relative to individualistic tasks like writing gratitude journals. The findings imply that PP interventions designed to enhance positive language teacher development should align with the cultural realities of the context of practice to foster genuine positivity rather than imposed positivity.