While teacher education programs have long studied what draws students to choose a career in teaching, a less studied aspect of teacher candidates relates to students who change majors to become teachers. As a phenomenon that is common in teacher preparation, I am interested in better understanding why this happens. This article centers around six…

This study aims to fill a gap in our understanding of the relationship between two major topics in educational research: higher education choices and students' conceptions of employability. It explores, first, the balance between vocational calling, instrumental considerations and chance in subject choice and, second, the relation between…

This study examined the roles of hard variables and soft variables in determining college teachers' intentions to pursue a special education career and education majors' actual decisions to major in special education. This study surveyed 243 college students taking special education courses at a state university, including 213 education majors.…

Theoretical explanations suggest that insight might increase life satisfaction by helping individuals choose a suitable academic major, indicating that insight might facilitate life satisfaction through academic major satisfaction. The current study thus investigates the mediating role of academic major satisfaction in the potential relationship…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) aims to improve its education sector by recruiting qualified and diverse student teachers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the factors affecting student motivation to enroll in colleges of education. Using simple random sampling, a total of 199 consenting students were recruited to participate in this…

The decision to choose teaching as a career is a commitment fewer people are making and a decision that is rife with complexity. The current state of teacher shortages and attrition both nationally and internationally impels us to investigate this situation. Within the area of career decision-making, the concept being researched most focuses on…

The purpose of this study was to examine perspectives on childhood, coping methods and reasons for deciding to major in education among undergraduates with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While the experiences of children and adolescents with ADHD have been the focus of much research, empirical evidence is lacking regarding the…

The growing evidence on the importance of teacher representation points to the need to better understand the factors shaping the lack of racial/ethnic diversity in the teacher workforce. In this study, we examine the extent to which college major choice explains racial/ethnic gaps in teaching. Drawing on data from the Baccalaureate and Beyond…

This study analyzed terminal degree and career choices of students who performed undergraduate research. In one analysis, the study compared terminal degree and career choices between a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) and traditional non-course-based undergraduate research experiences at one primarily undergraduate…

Taiwan's teacher training system currently faces a serious disorder. The excessive number of teacher education programs being set up in universities by the Ministry of Education has dramatically increased the number of teachers. The situation, coupled with the country of low birth rate and high retirement age, brings about fewer teaching vacancies…

This study is an attempt to uncover the factors leading students to study in the majors they dislike. Using a qualitative design, the study aims to explore the forces that cause students to make career choices against their will, and to investigate their future plans during their struggles with their parents and disliked majors. The study was…

The purpose of this investigation was to acquire a better understanding of the decision-making process of Thai pre-service music education students and their expectations of their post-graduation professional activities. Demographic data was gathered as well as self-reported participant influences regarding choosing to major in music education. A…

The higher educational institutions produce several times as many college graduates each year as there are jobs available recently in Taiwan. This coupled with the deep recession of economy in recent years have contributed to the intensified competition for jobs. The fierce unemployment among young people has revived the demand on the contribution…

This article reports on a study that investigated the reasons why one group of secondary education students chose to major in middle school education. Data were collected via interviews and meeting and observational notes with prospective middle school majors at a mid-Atlantic public university during the 2010/2011 academic year. Findings indicate…

In order to better understand the effects of student-life stress on Education and Health Service majors (n = 195) at a private, religious, Midwestern university in the USA, we assessed student perception of overall stress level and physical stress level using the Student-life Stress Inventory. The targeted sample consisted of students with…