The Relationship Between Iranian EFL Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Work Engagement

Aghabarari, M., & Rahimi, M. (2020). EFL teachers’ conceptions of professional development during the practicum: Retrospective perceptions and prospective insights. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 5(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-020-00084-0

Alshuhumi, S., Al-Hidabi, D., Aldaba, A., Ateeq, A., Almuraqab, N., Ibrahim, S., & Al-Refaei, A. A. (2025). Examining the impact of Omani primary school climate and teacher self-efficacy on innovative teaching practices: A structural equation modeling approach. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1487857. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1487857

Bakker, A. B., & Bal, P. M. (2010). Weekly work engagement and performance: A study among starting teachers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 189–206. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X402596

Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2008). Towards a model of work engagement. Career Development International, 13(3), 209–223. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430810870476

Bakker, A. B., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Taris, T. W. (2008). Work engagement: An emerging concept in occupational health psychology. Work & Stress, 22(3), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370802393649

Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117–148. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP2802_3

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.

Bandura, A. (2006). Toward a psychology of human agency. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(2), 164-180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00011.x

Barni, D., Danioni, F., & Benevene, P. (2019). Teachers’ self-efficacy: The role of personal values and motivations for teaching. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 465388. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01645

Berman, P., McLaughlin, M. W., Bass, G., Pauly, E., & Zellman, G. (1977). Federal programs supporting educational change, Vol. VII: Factors affecting implementation and continuation. The Rand Corporation.

Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2000). A longitudinal study of teacher burnout and perceived self-efficacy in classroom management. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(2), 239–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(99)00057-8

Burić, I., & Kim, L. E. (2020). Teacher self-efficacy, instructional quality, and student motivational beliefs: An analysis using multilevel structural equation modeling. Learning and Instruction, 66, 101302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101302

Burić, I., & Macuka, I. (2018). Self-efficacy, emotions and work engagement among teachers: A two-wave cross-lagged analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19(7), 1917-1933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9903-9

Chen, J. (2019). Efficacious and positive teachers achieve more: Examining the relationship between teacher efficacy, emotions, and their practicum performance. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 28(4), 327–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0427-9

Chen, J., Lin, C., & Lin, F. (2024). The interplay among EFL teachers’ emotional intelligence and self-efficacy and burnout. Acta Psychologica, 248, 104364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104364

Chen, M. C. (2025). Exploring the influencing effect of tertiary teachers’ perceived organizational support and teacher self-efficacy on their job satisfaction: The mediating role of teacher work engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1609824. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1609824

Chen, S., & Tang, L. (2024). EFL teachers’ engagement: The impact of well-being and emotion regulation. Heliyon, 10(5), 27338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27338

Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (1986). Rhythms in teaching: The narrative study of teachers’ personal practical knowledge of classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/0742-051X(86)90030-2

Coladarci, T. (1992). Teachers’ sense of efficacy and commitment to teaching. The Journal of Experimental Education, 60(4), 323–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1992.9943869

Cross, D. I., & Hong, J. Y. (2012). An ecological examination of teachers’ emotions in the school context. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(7), 957-967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.05.001

Demerouti, E., Nachreiner, F., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499

Deng, J., Heydarnejad, T., Farhangi, F., & Farid Khafaga, A. (2022). Delving into the relationship between teacher emotion regulation, self-efficacy, engagement, and anger: A focus on English as a foreign language teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1019984. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019984

Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 500-507. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500

Fan, Y. (2022). Reviewing the effect of English as a foreign language teachers’ positive and negative affectivity on their work engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 852687. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.852687

Fathi, J., Nourzadeh, S., & Arabani, A. S. (2021). Teacher individual self-efficacy and collective efficacy as predictors of teacher work engagement: The case of Iranian English teachers. Journal of Language Horizons, 5(2).  https://doi.org/10.22051/lghor.2021.33184.1366

Federici, R. A., & Skaalvik, E. M. (2011). Principal self-efficacy and work engagement: Assessing a Norwegian principal self-Efficacy scale. Social Psychology of Education, 14(4), 575–600. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-011-9160-4

Friedman, I. A. (1991). High and low-burnout schools: School culture aspects of teacher burnout. The Journal of Educational Research, 84(6), 325–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1991.9941813

Friedman, I. A., & Kass, E. (2002). Teacher self-efficacy: A classroom-organization conceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(6), 675-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(02)00027-6

Ghaith, G., & Yaghi, H. (1997). Relationships among experience, teacher efficacy, and attitudes toward the implementation of instructional innovation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 13(4), 451–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(96)00045-5

Gist, M. E., Schwoerer, C., & Rosen, B. (1989). Effects of alternative training methods on self-efficacy and performance in computer software training. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(6), 884–891. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.74.6.884

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, 102446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102446

Guglielmi, D., Bruni, I., Simbula, S., Fraccaroli, F., & Depolo, M. (2016). What drives teacher engagement: A study of different age cohorts. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 31(3), 323-340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-015-0263-8

Guo, Y., Connor, C. M. D., Yang, Y., Roehrig, A. D., & Morrison, F. J. (2012). The effects of teacher qualification, teacher self-efficacy, and classroom practices on fifth graders’ literacy outcomes. The Elementary School Journal, 113(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1086/665816

Hakanen, J. J., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2006). Burnout and work engagement among teachers. Journal of School Psychology, 43(6), 495–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2005.11.001

Hancock, C. B., & Scherff, L. (2010). Who will stay and who will leave? Predicting secondary English teacher attrition risk. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(4), 328-338. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487110372214

Hejazi, S. Y., & Sadoughi, M. (2025). Growth teaching mindset and work engagement: The chain mediating roles of professional development and teaching self-efficacy. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 87, 101506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2025.101506

Heng, Q., & Chu, L. (2023). Self-efficacy, reflection, and resilience as predictors of work engagement among English teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1160681. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1160681

Holzberger, D., Philipp, A., & Kunter, M. (2013). How teachers’ self-efficacy is related to instructional quality: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 774–786. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032198

Hosseini, S., & Haghighi Shirazi, Z. R. (2021). Towards teacher innovative work behavior: A conceptual model. Cogent Education, 8(1), 1869364. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2020.1869364

Huo, W., & Wang, X. (2024). Understanding the influencing factors of foreign language teachers’ work engagement: A meta-analytic structural equation model. Heliyon, 10(14), 34272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34272

Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 692–724. https://doi.org/10.5465/256287

Kim, K.-A., & Roth, G. L. (2011). Novice teachers and their acquisition of work-related information. Current Issues in Education, 14(1). Retrieved from https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/268

Kim, L. E., Dar-Nimrod, I., & MacCann, C. (2018). Teacher personality and teacher effectiveness in secondary school: Personality predicts teacher support and student self-efficacy but not academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(3). https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000217

Kim, L. E., Jörg, V., & Klassen, R. M. (2019). A meta-analysis of the effects of teacher personality on teacher effectiveness and burnout. Educational Psychology Review, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9458-2

Klassen, R. M., & Tze, V. M. C. (2014). Teachers’ self-efficacy, personality, and teaching effectiveness: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2014.06.001

Klassen, R. M., Bong, M., Usher, E. L., Chong, W. H., Huan, V. S., Wong, I. Y. F., & Georgiou, T. (2009). Exploring the validity of a teachers’ self-efficacy scale in five countries. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 34, 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2008.08.001

Klassen, R. M., Perry, N. E., & Frenzel, A. C. (2012). Teachers’ relatedness with students: An underemphasized component of teachers’ basic psychological needs. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 150–165. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026253

Klassen, R. M., Yerdelen, S., & Durksen, T. L. (2013). Measuring teacher engagement: Development of the Engaged Teachers Scale (ETS). Frontline Learning Research, 1(2), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.14786/FLR.V1I2.44

Koch, A. R., Binnewies, C., & Dormann, C. (2015). Motivating innovation in schools: School principals’ work engagement as a motivator for schools’ innovation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2014.958471

Lazarides, R., & Warner, L. M. (2020). Teacher self-efficacy. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.890

Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2006). Integrating person and situation perspectives on work satisfaction: A social-cognitive view. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69, 236–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2006.02.006

Lien, H. Y., & Lai, H. C. (2024). The impact of the organisational commitment of teachers on work engagement: The mediating role of teaching efficacy. e-mentor, 5(107), 29–35. https://doi.org/10.15219/em107.1685

Liu, F., Vadivel, B., Rezvani, E., & Namaziandost, E. (2021). Using games to promote English as a foreign language learners’ willingness to communicate: Potential effects and teachers’ attitude in focus. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 762447. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.762447

Malinen, O. P., Närhi, V., & Savolainen, H. (2024). The effect of teacher self-efficacy in behaviour management on classroom behavioural climate: A longitudinal multilevel cross-lagged analysis. Educational Psychology, 44, 415–435. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2024.2359672

Marcedula, F., Angelini, G., & Fiorilli, C. (2026). Teacher self-efficacy and well-being: The mediating role of satisfaction with students, colleagues, and parents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 23(2), 150. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23020150

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2008). Early predictors of job burnout and engagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3). https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.498

McLennan, B., McIlveen, P., & Perera, H. N. (2017). Pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy mediates the relationship between career adaptability and career optimism. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 176–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.022

Meyer, J. P., & Gagné, M. (2008). Employee engagement from a self-determination theory perspective. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, 60–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2007.00010.x

Mohd Razali, N., & Bee Wah, Y. (2011). Power comparisons of Shapiro-Wilk, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Lilliefors and Anderson-Darling tests. Journal of Statistical Modeling and Analytics, 2(1).

Moradkhani, S., Raygan, A., & Moein, M. S. (2017). Iranian EFL teachers’ reflective practices and self-efficacy: Exploring possible relationships. System, 65, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.12.011

Parker, P. D., & Martin, A. J. (2009). Coping and buoyancy in the workplace: Understanding their effects on teachers’ work-related well-being and engagement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(10), 68–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.06.009

Parker, P. D., Martin, A. J., Colmar, S., & Liem, G. A. (2012). Teachers’ workplace well-being: Exploring a process model of goal orientation, coping behavior, engagement, and burnout. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(4), 503–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.01.001

Perera, H. N., Calkins, C., & Part, R. (2019). Teacher self-efficacy profiles: Determinants, outcomes, and generalizability across teaching level. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 58, 186–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.02.006

Perera, H. N., Granziera, H., & McIlveen, P. (2018). Profiles of teacher personality and relations with teacher self-efficacy, work engagement, and job satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 120, 171–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.08.034

Lorente Prieto, L. (2009). Exploring the power of self-efficacy at work: Some empirical studies from the social cognitive perspective [Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Jaume I]. Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/10528

Rastegar, M., & Memarpour, S. (2009). The relationship between emotional intelligence and self-efficacy among Iranian EFL teachers. System, 37, 700–707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.09.013

Ross, J. A., & Gray, P. (2006). Transformational leadership and teacher commitment to organizational values: The mediating effects of collective teacher efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 17, 179–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243450600565795

Roth, G., Assor, A., Kanat-Maymon, Y., & Kaplan, H. (2007). Autonomous motivation for teaching: How self-determined teaching may lead to self-determined learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 761–774. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.4.761

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68

Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2010). Defining and measuring work engagement: Bringing clarity to the concept. In A. B. Bakker & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 10–24).

Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 701–716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471

Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., Bakker, A. B., & Gonzales-Roma, V. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326

Shi, X., & Wang, Y. (2026). The role of Chinese EFL teachers’ interpersonal emotion regulation in their work engagement and buoyancy: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods research. European Journal of Education, 61(2), 70604. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70604

Simbula, S., Guglielmi, D., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2011). A three-wave study of job resources, self-efficacy, and work engagement among Italian schoolteachers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20, 285–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320903513916

Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2010). Teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout: A study of relations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(4), 1059–1069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.11.001

Swanson, P. (2012). Second/foreign language teacher efficacy and its relationship to professional attrition. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 68, 78–101.

`https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.68.1.078

Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, A. W. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(7). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00036-1

Vadivel, B., Namaziandost, E., & Saeedian, A. (2021). Progress in English language teaching through continuous professional development—Teachers’ self-awareness, perception, and feedback. Frontiers in Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.757285

van Loon, N. M., Heerema, M., Weggemans, M., & Noordegraaf, M. (2018). Speaking up and activism among frontline employees: How professional coping influences work engagement and intent to leave among teachers. The American Review of Public Administration, 48(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016682313

Wang, X., Gao, Y., Wang, Q., & Zhang, P. (2024). Relationships between self-efficacy and teachers’ well-being in middle school English teachers: The mediating role of teaching satisfaction and resilience. Behavioral Sciences, 14(8), 629. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14080629

Wang, Y. (2024). Exploring the impact of workload, organizational support, and work engagement on teachers’ psychological wellbeing: A structural equation modeling approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1345740. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1345740

Wang, Y., & Pan, Z. (2023). Modeling the effect of Chinese EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and resilience on their work engagement: A structural equation modeling analysis. SAGE Open, 13. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231214329

Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A., & Solhi, M. (2025a). Dispositions toward loving pedagogy, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy as predictors of EFL teachers’ work engagement: A multinational study. Language Teaching Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688251353132

Wang, Y., He, L., & Wang, Q.-Y. (2025b). The predictive power of teaching self-efficacy and emotion regulation on work engagement for EFL teachers in higher education. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1446257. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1446257

Ware, H., & Kitsantas, A. (2007). Teacher and collective efficacy beliefs as predictors of professional commitment. The Journal of Educational Research, 100, 303–310. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.100.5.303-310

Wu, S., Xu, Q., Tian, H., Li, R., & Wu, X. (2025). The relationship between social support and work engagement of rural teachers: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1479097. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1479097

Wyatt, M. (2013). Overcoming low self-efficacy beliefs in teaching English to young learners. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 26, 238–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2011.605082

Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2009). Reciprocal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74, 235–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2008.11.003

Xiao, Y., Fathi, J., & Mohammaddokht, F. (2022). Exploring a structural model of teaching enjoyment, teacher self-efficacy, and work engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.918488

Xu, G., Haratyan, F., & Tian, H. (2026). A 2025 systematic review of teacher emotion regulation and well-being: Implications for student engagement, learning outcomes, and professional development in EFL contexts. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1715266. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1715266

Yu, X., Lin, X., Xue, D., & Zhou, H. (2024). Impact of work engagement on teachers’ workplace well-being: A serial mediation model of perceived organizational support and psychological empowerment. SAGE Open, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241291344

Zahoor, A. (2018). Teacher proactivity influencing student satisfaction and loyalty: Role of job crafting and work engagement. Vikalpa, 43(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/0256090918785046

Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981–1015. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626801

Zembylas, M., & Schutz, P. A. (2009). Research on teachers’ emotions in education: Findings, practical implications and future agenda. In P. A. Schutz & M. Zembylas (Eds.), Advances in teacher emotion research: The impact on teachers’ lives (pp. 367–377). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0564-2_18

Zeng, G., Chen, X., Cheung, H. Y., & Peng, K. (2019). Teachers’ growth mindset and work engagement in the Chinese educational context: Well-being and perseverance of effort as mediators. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00839

Zhang, J., Ye, Z., Chen, S., Sun, Q., Xu, Y., Liu, Y., Zhu, J., Jia, W., & Ma, L. (2025). Association between school climate, teachers’ self-efficacy, instructional practice, and perceived needs in professional development: A structural equation analysis using Shanghai TALIS 2018 data. Large-Scale Assessments in Education, 13, 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-025-00268-5

Zhi, R., Wang, Y., & Derakhshan, A. (2024). On the role of academic buoyancy and self-efficacy in predicting teachers’ work engagement: A case of Chinese English as a foreign language teachers. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 131(2), 612–629. https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125231222398

Zhou, S., & Hou, H. (2025). The interplay of self-efficacy, grit, and metacognition in shaping work engagement among EFL teachers: A comparative study of Mainland China and Hong Kong. BMC Psychology, 13, 468. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02761-6