A 2025 systematic review of teacher emotion regulation and well-being: implications for student engagement, learning outcomes, and professional development in EFL contexts

Teacher emotion regulation is increasingly recognized as a critical determinant of instructional quality, professional well-being, and student success, particularly in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts where linguistic challenges, sociocultural diversity, and high emotional labor intensify classroom demands. However, a comprehensive synthesis of the evidence linking these strategies to multi-level outcomes (teacher, student, and institutional) remains lacking. This systematic review synthesized findings from 165 peer-reviewed studies published between 1998 and 2025 to examine how emotion regulation strategies influence teacher well-being, professional development, and student engagement.

Literature searches were conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and guided by PICOS criteria to ensure transparency, comprehensiveness, and replicability. Searches were performed in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and PsycINFO, supplemented by hand-searching reference lists. The included studies employed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method designs and were analyzed using a combination of thematic analysis and content analysis. Coding reliability was established through double-coding of 25% of the studies, yielding strong inter-rater agreement (κ = 0.78).

Three major thematic patterns emerged. First, adaptive strategies, including cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness, attentional deployment, and relational regulation, were consistently associated with reduced stress, enhanced resilience, improved classroom management, and positive teacher-student interactions, whereas maladaptive strategies, such as suppression and rumination, predicted burnout and reduced instructional quality. A predominant finding across quantitative studies was a significant positive correlation between adaptive regulation and teacher self-efficacy. Second, professional development interventions-structured workshops, reflective journaling, and peer coaching-enhanced teachers' emotional competence, self-efficacy, and professional identity formation. Third, teacher emotion regulation significantly influenced student engagement, motivation, participation, classroom emotional climate, and language achievement. Cross-theme synthesis revealed cascading effects, showing that adaptive regulation promotes teacher well-being, which in turn supports student learning and professional development.

These findings underscore the importance of embedding emotion regulation training into teacher education programs, institutional policies, and reflective practice, establishing it not merely as a personal coping mechanism but as a foundational professional competency with direct implications for instructional quality and student outcomes. Future longitudinal and culturally contextualized research is needed to further elucidate these cascading mechanisms, ultimately informing more effective supports for teachers and learners in linguistically diverse classrooms.