Motives in Selecting Elementary and Secondary School Teaching

Abstract

SEVERAL STUDIES have sought to determine motives for teaching. Recently, Lloyd-Jones (14), Chaltas (3), and Lang (11) have surveyed the rel evant previous research. Interviews (8, 16), questionnaires (1, 5, 8, 17, 19, 22, 31), and es says on the theme Why I want to (7, 32) were the devices most frequently employed. Gen erally, in view of the critical teacher shortage, the direction of these studies was focused on find ing answers to immediate problems, rather than on testing hypotheses derived from theory. Theories of vocational choice, the concept of the multi-dimensionality of the teacher role, and studies of teacher personality provide a theoreti cal framework for research in this area. Personality is considered to be an imp o rant determinant of vocational choice (21, 24), which is, to a large extent, an expression of basic psy chological needs (6). Studies have shown that there are personality characteristics which dif ferentiate between (20) as well as within (10, 15) professional groups. It is generally recognized that the modern teacher plays many roles inside the classroom (18, 23). At the elementary and at the secondary level, some roles more than others tends to be emphasized. For instance, the elementary teach er confronts her pupils predominantly as a moth er-substitute, whereas the secondary teacher, in her role of subject-matter specialist, functions primarily as director of learning. It seems rea sonable to assume that one of the important rea sons why women select one rather than the other level of teaching is the fact that they like the ac tivities associated with the teaching role appro priate to that level. The findings of studies of teachers' personali ties (15, 25-27) and teachers'classroom behavior (28, 29) suggest that teaching serves as a distinct outlet for certain psychological needs and that these may differ for individuals who elect to teach at the elementary or secondary level. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent these differences, if any exist, are reflected in the motives for choosing the teaching profession. Motives for teaching were operation ally defined as : (a) reasons comprising the Lang Scale of Motives for Teaching and (b) psychologi cal needs measured by the E d w ards Personal Preference Schedule.