Exploring the differences in motives influencing the choice of teaching as a career for student, early, and late-career teachers in England and South Africa

Fuller, Michele (2022) Exploring the differences in motives influencing the choice of teaching as a career for student, early, and late-career teachers in England and South Africa. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

The research question focused on how adaptive motivational factors influenced student, early, and late-career teachers in England and South Africa’s initial choice to join and persist in teaching as a career. Two research instruments were used in this study: 1) adapted FIT-choice questionnaire (N = 385); 2) semi-structured interviews (N = 128). Watt and Richardson’s FIT-Choice model (2007), influenced by the Expectancy Value Theory (EVT), was chosen as a theoretical model as it: a) integrates key themes from the teacher motivation literature closely relevant to this study, b) supported the collection of quantitative and qualitative data exploring the adaptive motives influencing the choice to teach and c) enabled the comparison of English and South African teachers’ motives to teach across career stages. The two-phase comparative mixed methods sequential explanatory research design used qualitative data from semi-structured interviews to deepen the understanding of the intrinsic, altruistic, and extrinsic motives initially identified in the analysis of the quantitative data from sections A and B of the FIT-choice questionnaire. The highest rated adaptive motives were the intrinsic motives, ability and intrinsic career value followed by the altruistic motive, social equity. Intrinsically motivated student teachers expected to enjoy teaching and were idealistically motivated to teach as an opportunity to transform the world of education. In contrast, early career teachers became more pragmatic, whilst they were still intrinsically motivated, they valued the importance of adequate extrinsic rewards. Late-career teachers were more realistic, valuing the opportunity to continue to serve their students and society. English teachers described being motivated to redress enduring social class bias, compared to South African teachers who were motivated to support students disadvantaged through racial and socio-economic discrimination. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in the first use of the FIT-choice model to compare teachers' motivations in England and South Africa. Practical implications suggested a deeper understanding of teacher motivation can contribute to developing effective strategies to recruit, educate, and retain effective professional teachers.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2023 07:41
Last Modified:	18 Jul 2023 07:41
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/92624
DOI:

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