Experienced EFL Teachers' Resilience and the Role of Social-Emotional Competence

Teacher resilience is a complex process that incorporates various factors and competences, among which social-emotional competence (SEC) is the leading one. Hence, this study investigates the resilience of EFL teachers, with a focus on the role of SEC in this process. Four experienced English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through three interview methods (i.e., narrative, critical incident, and reinterviews) by converting teachers’ remarks into narratives with a focus on temporal sequentiality and causality. Findings indicated that teachers experienced various challenges in complex ways, resulting in changes in their professional performance. Regarding the dimensions of teacher resilience processes, the findings showed that despite strong connections between personal resources and strategies, as well as between contextual resources and strategies, moderate-level connections existed between personal resources and contextual resources. Additionally, weaker connections were found between outcomes and other dimensions, particularly between strategies and outcomes. Lastly, the findings pointed to the critical role of the SEC in all dimensions of the teacher resilience process.