Exploring Relations between Pre-Service English Teachers’ Psychological and Social Well-Being and their Perceptions of Positive Classroom Environment

Abstract

This paper reports on findings of a research study that sought to investigate the relationship betweenclassroom environment and candidate teachers’ social and psychological wellbeing. Dimensions ofpsychological and social well-being models include constructs such as personal growth, positive relationswith others, and social contribution. Such constructs have impacts on teachers’ creating a positiveclassroom environment, which is a predictor of students’ academic achievement. Therefore, this studyaims at exploring whether and how psychological and social well-being shape candidate teachers’perceptions of positive classroom environment. To address the focus of this study, the data were collectedfrom 157 senior students at the English Language Teaching department through three questionnaires.The questionnaires measured mainly three variables: Participants’ perceptions of positive classroomenvironment and their psychological and social well-being. The relationships between these variableswere tested through Structural Equation Model (SEM) using AMOS (22.0). The results of the studyrevealed some significant relationships between some of the dimensions only, which may indicate thatthe participant pre-service teachers are expected to promote positive classroom environment in someaspects, but not all. Regarding this, the study provides valuable suggestions to be included in teacher development programs.