Maternal wellbeing amidst English fever

An integrative framework of vicarious pride, empathy, agency and hope (M–Veah)

Bibliographic Data

ID17366398
AuthorsYeji Han (0000-0002-4848-7001, School of Education, Language and Psychology York St John University York UK, corresponding author), Soyoon Park (School of Modern Languages and Cultures University of Warwick Coventry UK), Kyoungmi Kim (0000-0002-8661-7508, School of Education, Language and Psychology York St John University York UK), Kyoung-Mi Kim (0000-0003-2768-8055, York St John University)
Year2026
Volume110
IssueS1
Pages415-434
Publication date2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Language Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-7902 • E-ISSN: 1540-4781
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/modl.70059
OpenAlexW7141812325
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited54

This study explored maternal wellbeing in the context of intensive maternal involvement in children's English education in South Korea, a setting characterised by neoliberal educational pressures. It highlights how individual wellbeing intersects with broader institutional pressures and social ideologies. The omission of maternal wellbeing in applied linguistics is surprising because mothers often fulfil conflicting roles such as a study supervisor, language teacher, emotional and financial supporter across many language education contexts. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study employed semi‐structured interviews with nine mothers in metropolitan areas in South Korea, actively managing their children's English learning activities. Grounded in Oxford's EMPATHICS framework and complemented by the perspective of English education as an institution, a thematic analysis was conducted on the interviews. The findings showed that maternal wellbeing comprises vicarious pride, reflecting emotional resonance with their children's educational successes and challenges; empathy‐driven decision‐making, balancing educational pressures with emotional care; agency exercised through reflective and resistant strategies against institutional expectations. Hope emerged as a critical psychological resource, sustaining mothers' long‐term emotional investments. Based on the findings, the study proposed the maternal wellbeing through vicarious pride, empathy, agency and hope (M–VEAH) framework, providing an integrative approach to understanding maternal wellbeing amid English fever

Agency (philosophy) · Context (archaeology) · Emotional labor · Mainstream · Perspective (graphical) · Qualitative research · Structure and agency · Thematic analysis · Early Childhood Education and Development · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Parental Involvement in Education