Teachers’ motivation for entering the teaching profession and their job satisfaction: a cross-cultural comparison of China and other countries

Abstract

This study employed a partially-mixed concurrent equal-status design to investigate factors motivating Chinese teachers to enter the teaching profession and sources of teacher job satisfaction in China as opposed to those described in the international literature. The data were collected in Jilin Province of China from 510 teachers who participated in a survey. The quantitative results indicated that Chinese teachers were motivated by both intrinsic (e.g. liking to be a teacher) and extrinsic factors (e.g. salary) to enter the teaching profession. Furthermore, MANOVA showed that teachers who were more intrinsically motivated to enter the teaching profession reported a higher level of job satisfaction. Qualitative data revealed that some job-satisfaction factors were universal across countries and some were specific to China. This study offered some implications for educational policy makers and practitioners worldwide and in China.