Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Profession Preferences and Teaching Status

Abstract

The study was conducted with 230 pre-service teachers who study in different departments (Primary Education, Turkish and Social Studies Education, Mathematics and Science Education). This study aims to determine the perceptions of the professional preferences and teaching status of pre-service teachers studying in different departments. The correlational survey model was used as a research design. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-Tests were used to analyze the data. The current study discussed the professional preferences of the pre-service teachers in the dimensions of “intrinsic” and “altruistic”, the dimensions of their professional status “teacher and the teaching profession value”, “the importance given to the teaching profession” and “cases affecting the teaching profession”. Pre-service teachers’ teaching profession preferences and perceptions of teaching status were examined according to gender, department, and the place of living for a long time. Findings show that there are high levels of relationship between the reasons for choosing a teaching profession and the perceptions of professional status.