Choosing to teach : motivating factors in Finnish students' decisions to teach

Abstract

The quality of an education system hinges on the quality of its teacher workforce. Teacher quality, in turn, is partially determined by who chooses to become a teacher. Finland, with its renowned teacher workforce, provides an interesting context within which to investigate individuals’ motivations for becoming a teacher. Thus, the present study seeks to investigate the question: What factors motivate the decisions of Finnish students to become teachers? To investigate this question, a survey was administered to first-year primary school (class) teacher education students during an orientation session at a medium-sized university in Finland. Summary statistics were calculated for the demographic, Likert scale, and ranking questions, and directed, or theory-driven, content analysis was used to analyze the open-ended survey questions. Altruistic motivations, including a desire to help society and a desire to work with children, were the most influential factors impacting participants’ decisions to teach, followed by intrinsic motivations, such as a passion for pedagogy. Extrinsic motivations, social influences, and Finland-specific factors were generally less influential, but still played a role in participants’ decisions. The results both support and expand upon existing theories of teacher motivation and signal a need for further qualitative investigations into the motivations of Finnish students for becoming teachers. Some observed motivations, including prior teaching experiences and a belief that one possesses a natural talent for teaching, could also be leveraged in the development of teacher recruitment programs in countries struggling to attract teachers to the profession.