Zhou Qing, Ma Haoran, Zhu Min, Chen Huaizhi, Gong Qiuyu
Foreign Language Department, Science and Technology College Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, 341000, Jiangxi, China.
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, 43600, Malaysia.
BMC Psychol. 2025 May 23;13(1):551. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02910-x.
The increasing prominence of blended teaching in English instruction underscores its potential to enhance educational quality. However, the significant time commitment required may deter teachers from adopting this method due to prevalent time poverty. Despite the critical implications, research exploring the link between time poverty and acceptance of blended teaching is sparse.
This study developed a theoretical model to investigate the effects of time poverty on the acceptance of blended teaching among teachers, incorporating job satisfaction as a mediating variable and social support as a moderating variable. A total of 793 English teachers from various Chinese universities participated, providing data through a structured questionnaire. The relationships were analyzed using regression and path analysis to validate the hypothesized model.
The analysis revealed that time poverty significantly and negatively influences university EFL teachers' acceptance of blended teaching. Job satisfaction was found to partially mediate this relationship, indicating that emotional well-being plays a critical role in shaping instructional openness under conditions of time stress. Notably, social support exhibited a dual moderating role: it exacerbated the negative impact of time poverty on both job satisfaction and blended teaching acceptance, while simultaneously enhancing the positive influence of job satisfaction on teachers' willingness to adopt blended methods.
These findings highlight job satisfaction as a pivotal psychological mechanism through which time-related stressors affect pedagogical innovation. The complex role of social support-being facilitative in some pathways yet detrimental in others-underscores the importance of evaluating not only the presence but also the alignment and perceived utility of support systems in educational settings. For university-level EFL teachers navigating digital transformation under high workload pressures, context-sensitive and needs-matched support strategies are essential. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying the interactive dynamics among time poverty, job satisfaction, social support, and blended teaching acceptance, and offers practical implications for the design of more effective teacher support mechanisms in the era of educational innovation.
混合式教学在英语教学中日益突出，凸显了其提升教育质量的潜力。然而，由于普遍存在时间匮乏的问题，采用这种方法所需投入的大量时间可能会阻碍教师采用。尽管具有重要意义，但探索时间匮乏与混合式教学接受度之间联系的研究却很少。
本研究构建了一个理论模型，以调查时间匮乏对教师接受混合式教学的影响，将工作满意度作为中介变量，社会支持作为调节变量。来自中国各高校的793名英语教师参与了研究，通过结构化问卷提供数据。使用回归分析和路径分析来验证假设模型中的关系。
分析表明，时间匮乏对大学英语教师接受混合式教学有显著的负面影响。研究发现工作满意度在这种关系中起部分中介作用，这表明在时间压力条件下，情绪幸福感在塑造教学开放性方面起着关键作用。值得注意的是，社会支持发挥了双重调节作用：它加剧了时间匮乏对工作满意度和混合式教学接受度的负面影响，同时增强了工作满意度对教师采用混合式教学意愿的积极影响。
这些发现突出了工作满意度作为与时间相关的压力源影响教学创新的关键心理机制。社会支持的复杂作用——在某些途径中起促进作用而在其他途径中起不利作用——凸显了不仅要评估支持系统的存在，还要评估其在教育环境中的协调性和感知效用的重要性。对于在高工作量压力下进行数字转型的大学英语教师来说，因地制宜、符合需求的支持策略至关重要。本研究通过阐明时间匮乏、工作满意度、社会支持和混合式教学接受度之间的互动动态，为相关文献做出了贡献，并为教育创新时代设计更有效的教师支持机制提供了实际意义。
