A study of Iranian EFL teachers’ perspective about the impact of caring for teachers on nurturing caring teachers

While research in second language acquisition (SLA) has accentuated the importance of positive teacher-student relationships, little is known about how teachers themselves experience care in their workplaces and how this affects their teaching practices. Addressing this underexplored gap, the current study investigates the perspectives of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers on the care they receive from institutions, colleagues, and students, and how it shapes their ability to provide care to learners. To this end, written narratives from 30 private institute EFL teachers were thematically analyzed using MAXQDA. The findings unveiled many teachers believed working in a/an (un)caring environment impacted their emotional and interpersonal abilities. They characterized caring work settings with receiving support from educational stakeholders, recognition of teachers’ efforts, and good treatment by one’s students. Conversely, they related uncaring work environments to low payment, dissatisfaction with managers’ behavior, and students’ uncaring behaviors. Teachers acknowledged that a nurturing workplace enhanced their emotional health and their job-related satisfaction, performance, and relationships. To develop such an environment, they recommended actions such as creating supportive networks among teachers, advocating students’ supportive and respectful classroom conduct, and creating policies that prioritize teacher wellbeing. Findings suggest receiving collegial and institutional care could develop teachers’ ability to create a nurturing classroom social climate and build rapport with students. Ultimately, the study emphasizes teachers’ capacity to care is deeply influenced by the appreciation and support they receive, underscoring the need for systemic and institutionalized approaches to teacher care in EFL contexts.