Based on an adjusted Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model that considers the mediation of personal resources, this study examined the relationships between two characteristics of teachers’ work environment (i.e., emotional job demands and trust in colleagues) and two indicators of teachers’ well-being (i.e., teaching satisfaction and emotional exhaustion). In particular, the study focused on how emotion regulation strategies (i.e., reappraisal and suppression) mediate these relationships. Data collected from a questionnaire survey of 1115 primary school teachers in Hong Kong was analyzed to test the hypothesized relationships. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that: (1) the emotional job demands of teaching were detrimental to teacher well-being, whereas trust in colleagues was beneficial; (2) both emotion regulation strategies mediated the relationships between both emotional job demands and trust in colleagues and teacher well-being; and (3) teachers who tend to use more reappraisal may be psychologically healthier than those tend to adopt more suppression. These findings support the applicability of the JD-R model to school settings and highlight the role of teachers’ emotion regulation in teachers’ well-being. Implications for the improvement of school environments and teachers’ well-being are identified.

Work Environment Characteristics and Teacher Well-Being: The Mediation of Emotion Regulation Strategies.

The relationships between teachers’ emotional labor and their burnout and satisfaction: A meta-analytic review

Emotional labor represents a long-standing area of research that since its initial development by Hochschild (1983) has been increasingly explored to understand why and how teachers manage and express their emotions in class. However, previous studies investigating teachers’ emotional labor have utilized varying conceptual frameworks and have often shown inconsistent effects, particularly concerning deep acting (i.e., the internalization of desired emotions such that expressed emotions are more consistent with experienced emotions). The current systematic review aimed to outline and summarize existing research findings on teachers’ emotional labor and is supplemented by a meta-analytic investigation on the connection between teachers’ emotional labor and psychological well-being. Practical implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Antecedents and Consequences of Teachers’ Emotional Labor: a Systematic Review and Meta-analytic Investigation

BACKGROUND Research into teacher emotion has attracted increasing attention in the last two decades. The relevance of teacher emotion in education has been highlighted. However, evidence of how teacher emotions impact their teaching approaches is rather limited. AIMS This study investigated the relationship between two self-report instruments - the Teacher Emotion Inventory and the Approach to Teaching. SAMPLE There were 1,830 teachers were approached from 43 primary schools in China and 12 primary schools in Hong Kong. METHODS Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling were utilized in the analysis procedure. RESULTS As a result, a five-factor TEI model was identified with two positive factors (Joy and Love) and three negative factors (Sadness, Anger, and Fear). A ATI model involved was confirmed with three factors (Knowledge Transmission, Student-Teacher Interaction, and Student Focus). Structural equation modelling demonstrated that more student-centred approaches are the consequence of positive teacher emotions while a teacher-centred approach is the consequence of negative teacher emotions although there are two surprising links. CONCLUSIONS Identifying this pattern of relationships will contribute to understanding the reasons why new teaching strategies are often not adopted despite well-designed professional programs and educational reform and will provide implications for teaching improvement through teacher emotion.

Exploring the impact of teacher emotions on their approaches to teaching: A structural equation modelling approach.

Background Teaching work is stressful, moreover during the pandemic teachers’ stress might have been intensified by distance education as well as by limited access to social support, which functions as a buffer in experiencing stress. The aim of the research was to investigate the relation between distance education and teachers’ well-being, and their close relations and other social relations during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The research was conducted in two stages on 285 Polish primary and secondary school teachers who were recruited by means of the chain referral method. The following measures were used: The Depression Anxiety & Stress Scales-21, Berlin Social Support Scales, The Relationship Satisfaction Scale and The Injustice Experience Questionnaire. Results The teachers experienced at least mild levels of stress, anxiety and depression, both during the first as well as the second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. It has been confirmed that there is a negative relation between relationship quality change and social relations quality change, and stress, anxiety and depression. The variables taken into consideration in the research have provided the explanation for the variation of stress—from 6% in the first stage of the research to 47% in the second stage; for the variation of anxiety—from 21% to 31%; and for the variation of depression—from 12% to 46%, respectively. Conclusions The research results show that due to distance work the distinction between professional work and family life might have been blurred, and as a consequence teachers’ well-being could have been worsened. The isolation put on to stop the spreading of the virus might have contributed to changes in social relations, in close relations in particular, and at the same time negatively influenced teachers’ abilities to effectively cope with the crisis situations.

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Teachers' mental health during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.

Currently, in China, improving the quality of teachers’ emotional labor has become an urgent need for most pre-kindergarten through 12th grade (p–12) schools because the new curriculum reform highlights the role of emotion in teaching. A total of 703 primary and high school teachers in Mainland China were investigated regarding their perceptions of school climate, emotional labor strategy and emotional exhaustion via questionnaires. The findings revealed that the teachers’ perceptions of the school climate negatively affected surface acting but positively affected deep acting. Surface acting positively predicted emotional exhaustion, and deep acting had no significant effect on emotional exhaustion. Moreover, emotional labor mediated the relationship between the teachers’ perceptions of the school climate and emotional exhaustion. Programs aimed at improving the school climate and the teachers’ use of appropriate emotional labor strategies should be implemented in schools in Mainland China.

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Xiying Li

Papers

How School Climate Influences Teachers’ Emotional Exhaustion: The Mediating Role of Emotional Labor