Income as a Moderator between Classroom Management Style and Emo-Educational Divorce: A Mixed-Methods Study of Iranian EFL Teachers

Abstract

Emo-educational divorce, a newly-coined concept in language teaching, refers to the loss of emotional involvement in education or a particular course. This study, adopting a sequential mixed-methods design, determines whether teacher income has any moderating effect on the relationship between classroom management style and emo-educational divorce. Moreover, the study aims to explore the teachers’ opinions regarding the role of income in the relationship between classroom management style and emo-educational divorce. In doing so, 160 English teachers from secondary schools participated in the study based on criterion sampling, and a pool of six teachers participated in the qualitative phase of the study based on purposive sampling. A number of instruments were employed to measure classroom management style and emo-educational divorce. To analyze the data, the Pearson product-moment correlation, One-way MANOVA, theme-based categorization including inter-coder reliability were conducted. The results confirmed a medium, negative correlation between classroom management style and emo-educational divorce. Moreover, the results showed that income could moderate the relationship between classroom management style and emo-educational divorce. Finally, regarding EFL teachers’ reactions to the role of income in the linkage between classroom management style and emo-educational divorce, the results of semi-structured interviews revealed nine common themes, including lack of buoyancy, demotivation, structured classroom, burnout, money, active participation, engagement, the dynamic nature of emo-educational divorce, and time-related issues. Finally, practical implications are suggested for EFL learners and teachers.