Investigating the effects of emotion regulation and creativity on Chinese EFL teachers’ burnout in online classes

Abstract

The spread of the Coronavirus and the emergence of new technology have led to an abrupt shift in education and changed the mode of instruction. The new mode of instruction has faced teachers with new challenges, which may enhance the rate of job burnout. To avoid this phenomenon, the causes of teacher burnout in online classes should be widely identified. With this in mind, this inquiry investigated the effects of emotion regulation and creativity on EFL teachers’ burnout in online classes. We hypothesized that teachers’ creativity and ability to regulate their emotions can minimize the rate of burnout. To test this hypothesis, 329 Chinese EFL teachers were invited to respond to three validated questionnaires. The collected data were analysed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The study outcomes revealed a significant correlation between Chinese EFL teachers’ creativity, emotion regulation, and burnout. The results also showed that creativity and emotion regulation can make a significant change in the rate of teacher burnout. The present results are hoped to be illuminating for all online English teachers. FUNDING INFORMATION. This work was supported by Ningbo University Teaching Research Project “Research on teaching strategy of ideological and political theory course based on acceptable psychology of college students” (JYXMXZD2023040).