Positive traits, PERMA and well-being of ESL teachers in primary schools / Punithan Shanmugam

Punithan , Shanmugam (2020) Positive traits, PERMA and well-being of ESL teachers in primary schools / Punithan Shanmugam. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

With the advancement of Positive Psychology within the field of SLA over the years, research on the emerging positive traits of hope, optimism, grit, and PERMA has been found to yield productive outcomes on health, life satisfaction and meaning in life. Nonetheless, there is a scarcity of research involving the positive traits and PERMA on the well-being of ESL teachers within the Malaysian context. Thus, this paper examines the influence of positive traits on the well-being of the primary level ESL teachers in Malaysia. This paper also analyses the strength of PERMA in predicting the relationships between the positive traits and the three well-being outcomes of health, life satisfaction and meaning in life of the ESL teachers. A convenience sample of 150 ESL teachers from primary schools around Kuala Lumpur participated in this cross-sectional survey study. The data obtained were analyzed via simultaneous regressions and mediation analyses. The findings revealed that the positive traits significantly explained the changes in all the three well-being outcomes. Hope appeared as the strongest predictor of well-being among the ESL teachers. Last but not least, the results of the mediation analyses documented that PERMA emerged as both significant strong and partial mediators in the links between the positive traits and the well-being outcomes. Thus, the strength and uniqueness of PERMA in this study provide evidence that the model can be considered as an effective well-being pillar of support for the ESL teachers in this study. With this, the results of this study establish theoretical and practical implications and perspectives not only concerning the well-being of L2 teachers but also on L2 teaching and learning. The positive well-being of the ESL teachers in relation to the positive traits, may possess meaningful implications on their professional well-being, coping and adaptive strategies, and teaching quality as well performance efficiency. These implications inadvertently influence a positive classroom climate, well-being and the language learning outcomes of their L2 learners.

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