Motivation and Satisfaction with Choosing a Teaching Career as Perceived by Students and Teachers

Research Aim: The aim of the study was to identify differences in motivation for and satisfaction with choosing the teaching profession between working teachers and students preparing to become teachers. Research Methods: The study used an original survey created by the author and a motivation questionnaire based on Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, adapted to the teaching profession. The questionnaire consisted of 19 items measuring three dimensions of motivation for choosing the teaching profession: autonomous motivation (intrinsic motivation, integration, and identification), controlled motivation (extrinsic motivation and introjection), and amotivation (lack of motivation). The questionnaire also included two other questions, about satisfaction with the choice of profession and the extent to which the choice of the career had been thought over. The statistical analysis was performed using TIBCO Statistica 13.3 software. Brief Description of the Issue Context: The self-determination theory (SDT) allows for extensive research on human motivation (Liu et al., 2016). In this context, fostering the autonomy of both teachers and students has significant advantages in terms of educational outcomes compared to control-oriented strategies, i.e., those which rely more on extrinsic motivation (Deci and Ryan, 2016). Research Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the individual dimensions of motivation between working teachers and students. Among the respondents, autonomous forms of motivation were at the highest level, controlled motivation was at a slightly lower level, and amotivation reached the lowest level. However, it was noted that as many as one third of the teachers were not satisfied with their chosen career and were thinking of changing jobs. Those studying preschool and early childhood pedagogy had higher levels of autonomous and controlled forms of motivation and lower levels of amotivation compared to female students of speech therapy. Conclusions and Recommendations: Due to the high percentage of people thinking about changing their profession, changes are needed that could increase the sense of satisfaction among teachers. It is also worth designing behavioral interventions that could encourage behavior that supports autonomous forms of student motivation.