Embedding emotion regulation in social justice-oriented teacher development: Insights from Iranian EFL teachers

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of a social justice-oriented teacher education course that incorporated explicit emotion regulation (ER) training on Iranian EFL teachers’ ER strategies and perceptions of classroom justice. Forty-three teachers participated in a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. In the quantitative phase, paired-samples t-tests revealed significant post-test increases in teachers’ use of engagement-oriented ER strategies. The largest effects were observed in cognitive change, t(42) = 9.68, p < .001, d = 1.48, followed by situation modification, t(42) = 6.32, p < .001, d = 0.96, and response modulation, t(42) = 6.70, p < .001, d = 1.02. Attentional deployment also improved moderately, t(42) = 3.53, p = .001, d = 0.54, while situation selection showed no meaningful change. Teachers’ perceptions of classroom justice likewise increased significantly across distributive, t(42) = 7.90, p < .001, d = 1.20, procedural, t(42) = 18.54, p < .001, d = 2.83, and interactional dimensions, t(42) = 17.41, p < .001, d = 2.65. The qualitative phase identified four themes: growing self-awareness of emotions and triggers, intentional use of engagement strategies, strengthening fairness and transparency in classroom interactions, and persistent challenges in managing negative emotions under institutional pressures. Together, these findings demonstrate that integrating ER strategy training into justice-oriented teacher education can produce statistically and practically significant improvements in both teachers’ emotional competence and their enactment of fairness, while also underscoring the importance of sustained institutional support to maintain these gains.