Why teaching? Perspectives from first-year South African pre-service teachers
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Date
2020
Authors
Moosa, Moeniera
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
South African initial teacher education institutes are currently experiencing an annual increase in admissions of first-year students. In addition, the increasing attrition rate of newly qualified teachers is of concern globally. This begs the question of why students are opting for teaching as a profession. This study focuses on reasons why first-year students have opted to study teaching at a South African university. The theoretical lens used is linked to the expectancyvalue theory of achievement motivation (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). Five hundred and eighty first year students participated in a mixed methods research study. Data were analysed by using theories of career motivation categories, namely: altruistic, extrinsic, and intrinsic reasons. Trustworthiness was ensured by a side-by-side comparison which collated quantitative and qualitative data. All ethical principles were adhered to. The findings indicate that more than half (60%) of the participants were motivated to pursue teaching for altruistic
reasons, followed by almost a quarter (23%) choosing teaching for extrinsic reasons, and 17% opting to become teachers for intrinsic
reasons. This paper argues that it would be prudent for initial teacher
education institutes to understand students’ rationales for selecting
teaching to support them to complete their qualification and remain in the profession.
Description
Keywords
Pre-service teachers, Teaching, Initial teacher education, Career motivation, Expectations
Citation
Moosa, M. (2020). Why teaching? Perspectives from first-year South African pre-service teachers. Perspectives in Education, 38(1), 130-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v38i1.10