The predicting role of EFL/ESL teachers’ self-efficacy and grit in their professional development

Teacher professional development (TPD) has received a vast body of investigations in the past decades. Its features, dimensions, measures, and outcomes in English as a foreign language (EFL) context have been sufficiently studied. However, the role of psycho-affective factors in the TPD process has been neglected, especially in terms of demographic factors. To fill this gap, this quantitative study examined the predicting role of teacher self-efficacy and grit in Chinese EFL teachers’ professional development. Three online questionnaires were completed by a sample of 305 EFL teachers with different backgrounds in China. The results of structural equation modeling and standardized regression weights revealed a strong association between demographic factors (gender, education, experience) and TPD. In addition, it was found that self-efficacy and grit could collectively predict 78% and 43% of changes in Chinese EFL teachers’ professional development. Insights for future researchers and EFL teachers are provided at the end of the study to increase their understanding of TPD in light of psycho-emotional factors.