The Relationship between the Motivation to Attend the Teacher Education Programme and the Acquisition of Professional Competences. The Case of Romanian Teachers

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the results pertaining to a section of a much wider research, having as main objective the process of pre-service teacher training in Romania by means of academic programs organized within universities. The research has an ascertainment-improvement character. We performed this research along the following main directions: investigating the opinions of inspectors responsible for lifelong training and those of the training programs’ beneficiaries. From a methodological perspective, as research method, we used the questionnaire-based survey of the subjects in the target groups. Through the questionnaire-based assessment we aimed at investigating the opinions of some factors involved in the initial training system. Starting from the hypotheses referring to the condition of the training system, we designed the research instruments, based on the identification of problems and solution pertaining to the role of motivation for graduating from the teaching training program in the acquisition of professional competences provided for by the teaching profession standards. We elaborated tools for each of the two categories of factors involved. From a methodological point of view, in designing the questionnaire we tried, as much as possible, in the case of common objectives, to formulate common means of surveying (common questions) the categories of subjects they address. The samples are representative of the target population. The diversity of structures resulting from the analysis of the target population features allows us to state that the results (information/opinions) obtained on the basis of the questionnaire reflects the opinions on the diversity of situations/conditions/socio-educational environments/training levels etc., which characterize our educational system. It may be stated that the research hypotheses were confirmed, as follows: the students’ level of involvement in their training for the teaching career is in an interdependence relationship with their motivation for completing the teacher education module.