The paper titled "Well-being and the Perception of Stress among EFL University Teachers in Saudi Arabia" by Nada A. Alqarni investigates the relationship between well-being, stress perception, and stressors among English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers at the university level in Saudi Arabia. The study aims to examine how stress levels, types of stressors, and demographic variables impact EFL teachers' well-being.
The research employed a cross-sectional design using an online questionnaire distributed to 53 EFL teachers at King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire included demographic information, the PERMA-Profiler measure for well-being, the Perceived Stress Scale, and questions about stressors. Statistical analyses including multiple regression, Pearson correlations, and t-tests were conducted on the collected data.
Key findings revealed that high levels of well-being were predicted by low stress levels and good physical health. The perception of stress explained 39% of the variance in well-being scores. A significant negative relationship was found between well-being and stress levels, while a positive relationship emerged between well-being and good physical health. Female teachers reported slightly higher levels of well-being compared to male teachers. The most frequent stressor reported was heavy workload, followed by difficulty maintaining work-life balance.
The study concludes that understanding EFL teachers' perceptions of stress and emotional well-being is crucial, as it may influence the quality and effectiveness of language teaching. The findings highlight the importance of considering teachers' psychological well-being and developing strategies to cope with occupational stressors. The author suggests incorporating affective training and stress management strategies into professional development programs for language teachers.
This research contributes to the field by examining the relationship between well-being, stress, and stressors among university-level EFL teachers in the Saudi Arabian context. However, the small sample size limits the generalizability of the findings. Future studies are recommended to explore these issues with larger samples and in diverse linguistic and cultural contexts.