Probing EFL teachers’ job motivation in the light of intra-individual level predictors

Abstract

The present study aims to scrutinize teacher motivation in relation to two individual level predictors, namely, self-efficacy and burnout among English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. To this end, 142 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers were selected from various English language institutes of Mashhad and Tehran, two cities in Iran. They were requested to complete three questionnaires: the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale, and the Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers. The findings obtained via SEM revealed that the proposed model had a good fit with the empirical data. In particular, it was found that job motivation contributed significantly to burnout depletion. It was also revealed that self-efficacy positively predicted job motivation, and burnout negatively influenced self-efficacy. However, self-efficacy surpassed motivation in predicting EFL instructors’ burnout. Results were discussed from both theoretical standpoints as well as previous empirical findings. Finally, implications were presented.