Roles of school-context and goal orientation on emotion regulation amongst Turkish middle-school STEM teachers

OpenAlex İngilizce

Background Emotion regulation addresses how individuals regulate and monitor their emotion. Although the role of personal characteristics in emotion regulation has been well studied, there is a need to examine the role of school-contextual variables including support, discipline problems, autonomy and recognition and goal orientation in emotion regulation.Purposes The purpose of this study was to explore the complex interplay between teacher emotion regulation, goal orientation and school-contextual variables among STEM teachers.Sample Two hundred and eighty-one STEM teachers across fifty middle schools located in the Southwestern Türkiye were voluntarily participated in the study.Design and methods Data were collected using Teacher Emotional Control Scale, Teacher Goal Orientation Scale and School Contextual Scale in the spring semester of 2022. A structural equation modelling approach allows examining the direct and indirect causal relations among variables, was used to address the research questions.Results Results of analysis showed that the hypothesized model had an acceptable fit with data. The hypothesized model could be accounted for 52.2% of variance in emotion regulation. Whereas mastery goal orientation positively predicted emotion regulation, performance goal orientation negatively contributed to emotion regulation. School contextual variables were directly related to goal orientation and indirectly emotion regulation through goal orientation. Moreover, the path coefficients between goal orientation and emotion regulation underscore that what teachers aim to accomplish in their work greatly contribute to how they regulate their emotions.Conclusion Results of study suggest that the socio-cultural environment in the schools are important determinants of how teachers regulate and control their emotions. These results are especially relevant for STEM educators, who frequently encounter distinct emotional challenges because of the rigorous nature of their subjects and the responsibility to cultivate critical thinking and problem-solving abilities in students.