Inner Dialogues of the Culturally Embedded Teacher: Cultural Identity Affirmation, Spiritual Meaning-Making, and Metacognitive Cultural Intelligence as Resilience Resources, Interpreted Through an Imagined-Interaction Lens

This study uses imagined-interaction theory as an interpretive lens for understanding three psychological resources that may be associated with teacher resilience and well-being: cultural identity affirmation, daily spiritual experience, and metacognitive cultural intelligence. We are explicit that imagined interactions themselves were not measured; the tradition instead supplies a vocabulary for interpreting why these culturally situated resources matter for occupational adaptation. A cross-sectional survey of 312 in-service Indian school teachers was analysed using structural equation modelling and conditional process analysis. Cultural identity and spirituality predicted resilience; metacognitive cultural intelligence predicted well-being; and a three-way interaction indicated that teachers high on all three resources reported the strongest resilience. Spirituality partially mediated the identity–resilience path, and cultural intelligence moderated the indirect effect of identity on well-being. We interpret these associations cautiously, as consistent with a view of resilient teaching as a narrative and imaginal accomplishment, not only a behavioural one.