Positive emotions fuel creativity: exploring the role of passion and enjoyment in Chinese EFL teachers' creativity in light of the investment theory of creativity

Due to the central role of creativity in teachers' professional success, the personal, emotional, and environmental sources of teacher creativity need to be discovered. A brief review of the available literature reveals that most of previous studies have looked into the personal and environmental sources of teacher creativity, leaving a broad range of emotional sources unconsidered. To fill this lacuna and shed light on the role of emotional factors in teacher creativity, our research investigated the role of passion and enjoyment in Chinese English teachers' creativity. To accomplish this, a random sample of 377 English language teachers was selected from various language institutes and universities in China. Afterward, three validated questionnaires were distributed among participants to assess their passion, enjoyment, and creativity in English classrooms. Then, to analyze the dataset, confirmatory factor analysis and linear regression analysis were run via IBM SPSS Amos. Results indicated that passion and enjoyment can make positive, significant changes in Chinese English teachers' creativity. The outcomes of the present inquiry may be illuminating for all educational leaders and principals.