Exploring the five-layer ecological model of English language teachers’ motivational (micro)climates: A descriptive qualitative study

Abstract

This descriptive qualitative study explored the perceptions of 17 Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers regarding the ecological factors that construct motivational (micro) climate. The analysis of narrative frames and interview data revealed various factors at five ecological layers that shape the motivational (micro) climate. At the micro level, factors related to ‘teachers’, ‘students’, ‘classroom interactions’, ‘resources and tasks’, physical environment’, and ‘individual differences’ established motivational (micro)climate. At the meso level, ‘school/university-home relations’, ‘institutional policies’, ‘educational regulations’, ‘teacher-parent interactions’, and ‘peer and group engagement’ were highlighted. The ‘educational system’, ‘cultural values’, ‘social norms’, ‘economy’, ‘political climate’, and ‘globalization and internationalization of English’ were the macro-level factors. Concerning exo factors, ‘educational resources’, ‘community attitude and services’, ‘family’, and ‘mass media’ were emphasized. At the chrono level, ‘time passage’, ‘developmental changes’, and ‘historical events’ were underscored. Implications are provided for teachers and teacher educators to (re)consider motivational (micro) climate ecology.