‘It has always been my dream’: exploring pre‐service teachers’ motivations for choosing to teach

Abstract

This article reports on an investigation into the motivations of a cohort of pre-service teacher education students, undertaking a five-year, full-time combined undergraduate and initial teacher education degree program at the University of Sydney, Australia. Participants completed an extensive questionnaire which sought to gather data on the characteristics of the cohort; the factors that influenced their decision to undertake a teaching degree; their educational and work backgrounds; their perceptions of teaching, teachers and students; their expectations of teaching as a career; and their professional goals. The study found that a majority of participants made the decision to teach based on reasons that reflect personal aspirations to work with young people to make a difference in their lives; to maintain a meaningful engagement with the subject area they were drawn to; and to attain personal fulfilment and meaning. The study found that more than two-thirds of the sample intended teaching for at least 10 years after being appointed. The article explores the implications of the findings for early career teacher satisfaction, teacher retention and early career teacher attrition.

So You Want to Be a Teacher: What Are Your Reasons?

“…In a study on the Turkish prospective teachers' motivations for teaching, it was found that intrinsic career value, salary, societal status, societal influences, working with children/adolescents, and making social contribution were among the most significant factors that affected their choices for teaching (Y. Boz & N. Boz, 2008). Personal fulfillment, working with young people, working conditions, lifestyle, and professional status were found to be among the most influential factors affecting Australian prospective teachers' motivations for teaching (Manuel & Hughes, 2006). According to Wang (2004), prior teaching experiences, cultural beliefs about teaching, gaining social status, and favorable working conditions influence Taiwanese prospective teachers' motivations for teaching.…”

“…Spear, Gould, and Lee (2000) find in their review of research in England and Wales that intrinsic and altruistic motivations dominate the reasons for entering the profession among prospective teachers. Studies in Australia indicate that personal fulfillment, the desire to work with young children and to make a difference in their life and the opportunity to experience a meaningful engagement with the subject of their choice are the three main motivational factors (Manuel & Brindley, 2005;Manuel & Hughes, 2006).…”

Motivations of Turkish Pre-service Teachers to Choose Teaching as a Career

“…Williams and Forgasz's (2009) findings from a study of motivations of 375 career change students support the research that people chose teaching as a career primarily for intrinsic or altruistic reasons rather than for extrinsic rewards such as pay, working conditions, career opportunities or status. Manuel and Hughes (2006) reported the quest for personal fulfillment, the desire to work with young people to make a difference in their lives, and the opportunity to continue meaningful engagement with the subject of their choice as fundamental reasons for people to choose teaching at the end of research with 79 secondary teacher education students in Australia. Anthony and Ord (2008) report push and pull factors, family experiences, values and task expectancies as the reasons of 68 participants to pursue teaching in New Zealand.…”

Factors Contributing towards Studying Education Related Courses in Institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria: Implication on Teaching Profession

“…Researchers revealed that family interest, peer influence, cultural beliefs, role model and extrinsic reasons are part of the fundamental issues influencing student decision to choose teaching as a career [17,18,19,20]. Some of the factors cited varies across regions, for instance in Malaysia, cultural beliefs were identified to play a dominant role in facilitating the image of the teaching profession [21]; social influences were the key factors in the Turkish and Australian context); while socio-economic status was a significant factor in Zambia [22,23].…”