Calling or Circumstance? How Tanzanian Youth Negotiate Entry into the Teaching Profession

Teacher motivation at the point of entry strongly predicts professional commitment, classroom engagement, and retention, yet studies on why young people in Tanzania choose teacher-education programmes remain scarce. Informed by the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) model and self-determination theory (SDT), this qualitative inquiry asked whether Tanzanian youths experience entry into teaching as a deeply felt calling, as a response to circumstance, or as a negotiated combination of both. Using a phenomenologically informed design, 23 interviews were conducted with student teachers and the resulting evidence was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis yielded five themes: teaching as a fallback and constrained choice; the economic rationality of a hedged bet; family influence; genuine calling; and negotiated acceptance. The dominant narrative was circumstantial rather than vocational, as the majority of participants had sought higher-status and better-remunerated fields but found themselves in teaching because of academic constraints and the ease of securing a job upon graduation. Only three participants expressed a genuine calling, but even these few reported an eroding commitment linked to low status and disrespect, which heightens the possibility of exit. These findings bear direct implications for recruitment, selection, preparation, and retention policy in Tanzania and similar low-income countries.