Associations of emotional intelligence and job crafting with EFL teacher work engagement: The statistical mediating role of mindfulness

Abstract

This study examined how job crafting, emotional intelligence (EI), and mindfulness relate to English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ work engagement. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results showed that job crafting and EI were positively associated with work engagement, and mindfulness was positively associated with it while also mediating both associations in the primary model. However, a common-latent-factor sensitivity analysis controlling for common-method variance indicated that this support was asymmetric: whereas the indirect pathway through job crafting remained significant, the indirect pathway through EI did not. These findings suggest that job crafting relates to higher engagement partly through an indirect pathway involving mindfulness. Conversely, the corresponding pathway for EI is more sensitive to shared method variance, warranting cautious interpretation. The study advances current theorization on teacher engagement by integrating behavioral, emotional, and attentional resources within a unified structural model, though its cross-sectional design precludes causal interpretation. Tentative implications are discussed.