From aspiration to passion – Investigating the role of career choice motivation and self-concept for teacher enthusiasm in early stages of teacher education

This longitudinal study investigated in a German sample of N = 671 second-semester pre-service teachers how career choice motivation relates to six-months-later teacher enthusiasm and whether teacher self-concept mediates these relations. Results indicated that intrinsic but not extrinsic career choices predicted teacher enthusiasm. Latent mediation models revealed: (a) The relation between teaching interest and teaching enthusiasm was explained only by teaching-specific but not by subject-specific self-concept, and (b) the relation between subject interest and subject enthusiasm was explained only by subject-specific self-concept. Thus, two distinguishable pathways appear to be involved in the formation of teacher enthusiasm, suggesting a need for targeted motivational interventions. • Intrinsic career choice motivation predicts teacher enthusiasm longitudinally. • Extrinsic career choice motivation is less relevant for teacher enthusiasm. • Self-concept mediates links between career choice motivation and teacher enthusiasm. • Teaching enthusiasm and subject enthusiasm form via distinct pathways. • Pathways align with facets of career choice motivation and self-concept.