Exploring the Contribution of Loving Pedagogy to Teacher Well-Being in EFL Classrooms through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi, Iran

2 Department of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevai University, Tohid Shahr, Sabzevar, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran

3 Department of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University, Tohid Shahr, Sabzevar, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran

Abstract

Despite acknowledgment that teacher well-being (TWB) emerges from relational and contextual dynamics rather than individual factors alone, research has paid comparatively little attention to relational pedagogical antecedents such as loving pedagogy (LP) particularly in ELT within Iran. This study, therefore, examines how teachers’ LP and its components contribute to TWB through the impact of teachers’ demographic features, and their teaching context. To that, through convenience sampling, 210 EFL teachers voluntarily accepted to respond the questionnaire including two scales. The findings of this study showed that Iranian EFL teachers experienced a high level of LP and WB in their work. However, female teachers reported higher levels than their male counterparts. The findings also indicated that despite a weak impact of teachers' age on their WB, it did not affect their LP. Regarding the other teachers’ demographic feature, teaching experience, and their teaching context, they did not significantly impact the teachers’ LP and WB. Furthermore, the results showed that LP significantly contributed to TWB, while none of the teachers’ demographic features and contextual factors moderated their relationship. The results, discussed through the lens of Self-Determination Theory, recommend that teachers' basic psychological needs, particularly their relatedness needs, be satisfied to foster their WB.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by the Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages at the University of Mazandaran. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

References

Alipour, S., Ghaniabadi, S., & Noughabi, M. A. (2025). Investigating the role of resilience, foreign language teaching enjoyment, and mindfulness in predicting loving pedagogy in English language teaching. Psychology in Russia, 18(3), 69-86.‏ https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2025.0305
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2014). Job demands–resources theory. In P. Y. Chen & C. Cooper (Eds.), Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide (pp. 1–28). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118539415.wbwell019
Barcelos, A. M. F. (2020). Revolutionary love and peace in the construction of an English teacher’s professional identity. In R. Oxford, M. Olivero, M. Harrison & T. Gregersen (Eds.), Peacebuilding in Language Education (pp.96-109). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/oxford9790
Barcelos, A. M. F., & Coelho, H. S. H. (2016). Language learning and teaching: What’s love got to do with it. Positive psychology in SLA, 97, 130-144.‏
Bentler, P. M. (2007). On tests and indices for evaluating structural models. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(4), 825-829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. paid.2006.09.024
Caruana, S., & Borg, M. (2020). Stress-related factors affecting teachers of foreign languages in Maltese state and church schools. Symposia Melitensia, 16, 87-100.
Chabot, S. (2008). Love and revolution. Critical Sociology, 34 (6), 803–828. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920508095100
Collie, R. J., & Martin, A. J. (2023). Teacher well-being and sense of relatedness with students: Examining associations over one school term. Teaching and Teacher Education, 132, 104233.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104233
Culshaw, S., & Kurian, N. (2021). Love as the lifeblood of being-well: A call for care for teachers in England’s schools. Pastoral Care in Education, 39(3), 269-290.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2021.1938647
Dagenais-Desmarais, V., & Savoie, A. (2012). What is psychological well-being, really? A grassroots approach from the organizational sciences. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 659-684.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9285-3
Demir, B. (2024). Exploring English language instructors’ perspectives and practices on teacher well-being. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 9(3), 1491-1510.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-024-00178-x
Derakhshan, A. (2025a). Loving pedagogy in second and foreign language education: Underlying components, measurement, and ecological systems. Springer.
Derakhshan, A. (2025b). Positioning loving pedagogy practice in the heart of second/foreign language (L2) education: Theorization and implementation approaches unveiled. In E. Vanderheiden, C.H. Mayer, & A.M.F. Barcelos (Eds.), Pedagogical love in adult education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-82046-5_16
Derakhshan, A., Greenier, V., & Fathi, J. (2023). Exploring the interplay between a loving pedagogy, creativity, and work engagement among EFL/ESL teachers: A multinational study. Current Psychology, 42(26), 22803-22822.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03371-w
Derakhshan, A., Setiawan, S., & Ghafouri, M. (2024). Modeling the interplay of Indonesian and Iranian EFL teachers’ apprehension, resilience, organizational mattering, and psychological well-being. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 12(1), 21–43. https://doi.org/10.30466/ijltr.2024.121416
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Fredrickson, B. (2013). Love 2.0. Hudson Street Press.
Greenier, V., Derakhshan, A., & Fathi, J. (2021). Emotion regulation and psychological well-being in teacher work engagement: A case of British and Iranian English language teachers. System, 97, Article 102446.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102446
Gregersen, T., Mercer, S., MacIntyre, P., Talbot, K., & Banga, C. A. (2023). Understanding language teacher wellbeing: An ESM study of daily stressors and uplifts. Language Teaching Research, 27(4), 862-883.‏ https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820965897
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
Hair, J.F., Hair, J., Sarstedt, M., et al. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods, 3(4), 424-453. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.3.4.424
Ismail, S. M., Patra, I., Yang, H., & Ajanil, B. (2023). Language teacher psychological well-being: an insight into the impacts of emotion regulation, reflective teaching, self-efficacy, and identity in an EFL context. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 8(1), 44.‏ https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-023-00215-3
Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford.
Lavy, S., & Naama-Ghanayim, E. (2020). Why care about caring? Linking teachers’ caring and sense of meaning at work with students’ self-esteem, well-being, and school engagement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 91, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103046
Li, B., & Miao, G. (2022). On the role of Chinese English as a foreign language: Teachers’ well-being and loving pedagogy in their academic engagement. Frontiers in psychology, 13, Article 941226. ‏https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.941226
Loreman, T. (2011). Love as pedagogy. Sense.
Ma, Y., & Liu, Z. (2024). Emotion regulation and well-being as factors contributing to lessening burnout among Chinese EFL teachers. Acta Psychologica, 245, 104219.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104219
MacIntyre, P. D., Ross, J., Talbot, K., Mercer, S., Gregersen, T., & Banga, C. A. (2019). Stressors, personality and wellbeing among language teachers. System, 82, 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.02.013
Mairitsch, A., Babic, S., Mercer, S., Sulis, G., & Shin, S. (2023). The role of compassion during the shift to online teaching for language teacher wellbeing. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 9(1), 1-22.‏ https://doi.org/10.31261/tapsla.13123
Maslow, A. H. (1954). The instinctoid nature of basic needs. Journal of Personality, 22, 326–347. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1954.tb01136.x
McInerney, D. M., Ganotice, F. A., King, R. B., Morin, A. J. S., & Marsh, H. W. (2015). Teachers’ commitment and psychological well-being: Implications of self-beliefs for teaching in Hong Kong. Educational Psychology, 35(8), 926–945. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2014.895801
Morin, A. J. S., Meyer, J. P., McInerney, D. M., Marsh, H. W., & Ganotice, F. (2015). Profiles of dual commitment to the occupation and organization: Relations to wellbeing and turnover intentions. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 32(3), 717–744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-015-9411-6
Mercer, S. (2023). The wellbeing of language teachers in the private sector: An ecological perspective. Language teaching research, 27(5), 1054-1077.‏ https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820973510
Mercer, S., Oberdorfer, P., Saleem, M. (2016). Helping language teachers to thrive: Using positive psychology to promote teachers’ professional well-being. In D. Gabryś-Barker, D., Gałajda, (Eds.), Positive Psychology Perspectives on Foreign Language Learning and Teaching (pp. 213-229). Springer, Cham. https:// doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32954-3_12
Mercer, S. (2021). An agenda for well-being in ELT: An ecological perspective. ELT Journal, 75(1), 14-21.‏ https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccaa062
Naama, E., & Lavy, S. (2022). What it takes to be caring: Resources and benefits of caring teachers in Israel. Teaching and Teacher Education, 119, 103852.‏
Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education. University of California Press.
Noddings, N. (1988). An ethic of caring and its implications for instructional arrangements. American Journal of Education, 96(2), 215–230. https://doi.org/10.1086/443894
Noddings, N. (1992). Social studies and feminism. Theory & Research in Social Education, 20(3), 230-241. https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.1992.10505667.
Azari Noughabi, M., Enferad, R., Barkati, M., Masoumi, M., & Aghdamie, M. (2025). Understanding English as a foreign language teachers’ dispositions toward loving pedagogy: an activity theory perspective. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching,1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2025.2592595
Page, J. (2018). Characterising the principles of professional love in early childhood care and education. International journal of early years education, 26(2), 125-141.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2018.1459508
Pavelescu, L. M., & Petrić, B. (2018). Love and enjoyment in context: Four case studies of adolescent EFL learners. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 73-101. https://‏doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.1.4
Peng, W., Liu, Y., & Peng, J.-E. (2023). Feeling and acting in classroom teaching: The relationships between teachers' emotional labor, commitment, and well-being. System, 116(2), Article 103093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103093
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 141-166.‏ https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 68–78.
Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Press.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
Rakıcıoğlu-Söylemez, A. (2024). The role of classroom silence in teacher educators’ well-being: A case study in TESOL initial teacher education. System, 127, 103530.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103530
Sadeghi, K., & Pourbahram, R. (2024). Transnational English language teacher wellbeing: An ecological perspective. Porta Linguarum Revista Interuniversitaria de Didáctica de las Lenguas Extranjeras, (IX), 135-152.‏ https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.viIX.29881
Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Atria Books.
Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological review, 93(2), 119-135.‏
Subhaktiyasa, P.G. (2024). PLS-SEM for multivariate analysis: A practical guide to educational research using SmartPLS. EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 4(3), 353-365.
Turner, K., Thielking, M., & Prochazka, N. (2022). Teacher wellbeing and social support: A phenomenological study. Educational Research, 64(1), 77-94.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.2013126
Uusiautti, S., Määttä, K., & Määttä, M. (2013). Love-based practice in education. International Journal about Parents in Education, 7(2). 134-144. https://doi.org/10.54195/ijpe.18222
Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A., & Azari Noughabi, M. (2022). The interplay of EFL teachers’ immunity, work engagement, and psychological well-being: Evidence from four Asian countries. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(8), 3241–3257.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2092625
Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A., & Solhi, M. (2025). Dispositions toward loving pedagogy, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy as predictors of EFL teachers’ work engagement: A multinational study. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/13621688251353132
Weiland, A. (2021). Teacher well-being: Voices in the field. Teaching and Teacher Education, 99, 103250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103250
Ye, D., Sun, S., & Zhao, D. (2022). EFL students’ L2 achievement: The role of teachers’ organizational commitment and loving pedagogy. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 937624.‏ https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.937624
Yin, L. C., Loreman, T., Abd Majid, R., & Alias, A. (2019). The dispositions towards loving pedagogy (DTLP) scale: Instrument development and demographic analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 86, 102884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102884
Zhang, L. (2023). Reviewing the effect of teachers’ resilience and wellbeing on their foreign language teaching enjoyment. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1187468. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1187468
Zhang, L., Chen, J., Li, X., & Zhan, Y. (2024). A scope review of the teacher well-being research between 1968 and 2021. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 33(1), 171-186.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-023-00717-1
Zhao, S., & Li, M. (2021). Reflection on loving pedagogy and students' engagement in EFL/ESL classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.757697
Zhi, R., & Wang, Y. (2023). English as a foreign language teachers’ professional success, loving pedagogy and creativity: A structural equation modeling approach. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 49, 101370.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101370
Zhi, R., & Derakhshan, A. (2024). Modelling the interplay between resilience, emotion regulation, and psychological well-being among Chinese English language teachers: The mediating role of self-efficacy beliefs. European Journal of Education, 59(3), 12643. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12643
Zhou, S., Slemp, G. R., & Vella-Brodrick, D. A. (2024). Factors associated with teacher wellbeing: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 36(2), 63.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09886-x

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 09 February 2026
  • Revise Date: 13 April 2026
  • Accept Date: 19 April 2026
  • First Publish Date: 24 April 2026
  • Publish Date: 24 April 2026

Share

How to cite

Statistics