Expectancy-Value Profiles of Teaching Career Motivation: Comparing Elementary and Secondary Pre-service Teachers

This study aimed to compare the levels and profiles of teaching career motivations between pre-service elementary and secondary teachers using expectancy-value theory. Both groups reported high effort cost and attainment value, with secondary teachers showing higher intrinsic value and elementary teachers higher personal utility value and opportunity/emotional costs. Latent profile analysis identified 5 profiles for pre-service elementary teachers (‘high expectancy/value-high cost’, ‘moderately high expectancy/value-moderately high cost’, ‘high expectancy/value-high effort cost’, ‘moderate expectancy/value-high utility-high cost’, and ‘moderate expectancy/value-moderate cost’) and 7 profiles for pre-service secondary teachers (‘high expectancy/value-high cost’, ‘moderately high expectancy/value-moderately high cost’, ‘moderately high expectancy/value-high cost’, ‘high expectancy/value-high effort cost’, ‘high expectancy/value-low cost’, ‘moderate expectancy/value-high cost’, and ‘moderate expectancy/value-moderate cost’). Based on the findings, we proposed measures to enhance and select pre-service elementary teachers with high intrinsic values, and to reduce costs for pre-service teachers at both elementary and secondary levels.