Student engagement linked to later well-being in novice male English teachers

A two-wave observational study of 339 novice male English teachers in Chinese senior high schools found that perceived student engagement was associated with higher teacher well-being four weeks later. The relationship was also indirectly associated with more teacher enjoyment and less anxiety and boredom, according to the peer-reviewed research in BMC Psychology. The results connect teachers’ perceptions of classroom engagement with their emotional experiences and subsequent well-being, but they do not establish causation.

Participants first completed measures of perceived student engagement and three discrete teacher emotions: enjoyment, anxiety and boredom. Four weeks later, they completed a measure of teacher well-being. This time-lagged design placed the classroom-perception and emotion measures before the outcome measure, allowing the researchers to examine whether variables assessed at the first wave were associated with well-being at the second wave.

Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized direct and indirect associations among the variables. Perceived student engagement had a positive direct association with subsequent teacher well-being. It was also indirectly associated with well-being through three emotional pathways: teachers who perceived greater student engagement tended to report more enjoyment, less anxiety and less boredom.

These associations formed the basis of the study’s conclusion that perceived engagement may be linked to teachers’ emotional experiences as well as their later well-being. The evidence applies specifically to novice male English teachers working in Chinese senior high schools, where the authors identified limited research on the well-being of this group. The study used convenience sampling, and student engagement was assessed through teachers’ perceptions rather than independent classroom observation.

As a result, the findings describe statistical associations within the sampled population and cannot demonstrate that student engagement caused changes in teacher emotions or well-being. Instead, the authors suggest that schools may benefit from combining engagement-oriented instructional practices with emotion-focused professional development, presenting this as a potential implication for supporting novice male English teachers rather than as a tested intervention.

Subject of Research: Associations among perceived student engagement, teacher emotions and well-being in novice male Chinese senior high school English teachers

Article Title: The neglected minority: perceived student engagement, teacher emotions, and well-being among male english teachers

Article References: Luo, W. (2026). The neglected minority: perceived student engagement, teacher emotions, and well-being among male english teachers. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05556-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05556-5

Keywords: teacher well-being, student engagement, teacher emotions, English education, China, occupational psychology, structural equation modeling, novice teachers, neglected, minority, perceived, student