Teacher Motivation, Professional Development, and English Language Education

Abstract

Teacher motivation for professional development is necessitated by the recent discourses of educational reform, agreement over the dependence of student motivation on teacher motivation, and the studies on teacher well-being. Research to some extent has established a positive relationship between teacher motivation and student motivation. Thus, teachers are rightfully implicated in student motivation. While education reform policies emphasize the executive role of teachers in implementing reforms, education reform discourses cast teachers as “change agents.” The close link between job satisfaction and well-being also highlights the relevance of teacher motivation. In the Indian education context, teacher motivation for professional development assumes added significance in the absence of comprehensive English language teaching and learning component at the pre-service training. Further, the constant onslaught of change and innovation is significant, especially in-service teacher education which tends to ignore teachers’ concerns. This chapter explores the teacher motivation construct drawing on the existing literature and proposes a framework for understanding teacher motivation for professional development. It begins with an overview of teacher motivation construct and then presents a framework for explaining professional development motivation. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of a few strategies for initiating and enhancing teacher motivation for professional development.KeywordsTeacher motivationTeacher motivation for professional developmentIndian English Language EducationTeacher educationTeacher community