Motivation for choosing teaching as a career - the perspective of pre-service teachers, novices and experienced subject teachers

Abstract

Since motivation for choosing the teaching profession figures as one of the most important determinants of the successfulness of teachers and even their students, this paper is aimed at investigating the factors of choosing teaching as a career. For that purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students of “teacher training” faculties, novices and subject teachers with more than five years of work experience (N=76). Thematic analysis was used to identify nine categories of motivational factors: Working with young people (the desire to have a dynamic and creative job in the surroundings of young people), Influence on students (the motivation to exert influence on students’ socio-emotional development, values and education), Dealing with the subject (the motivation for dealing with the science that the person studied), Class teacher/Teacher/Parents as a role model (the motivation stemming from the influence of significant others), Lecturing (the desire to “transfer knowledge”), Lifelong learning (the desire for permanent learning in different fields), Working hours and holidays (the motivation due to working hours and holidays), Fit with the abilities (the desire to realise the “naturally given” abilities) and Reputation (the desire to be appreciated in the society). In keeping with the results of other studies, it has been found that altruistic motivation for the choice of teaching as a career is dominant, while extrinsic motivation is least present. The findings are interpreted in the light of the current models of motivation for choosing teaching as a career and the characteristics of teachers’ education and status in Ser