The paper is based on interviews with a sample of 200 teachers from the Limpopo province about their life histories, particularly those aspects related to their choice of teaching as their first career path, and their expectations, experiences and perceptions in this regard. It argues that current approaches to teacher education in South Africa…

The purpose of this study was to reveal the reasons why teacher candidates attending the faculties of education have preferred the teaching profession and the explanatory relations between those reasons. To this end, 801 students who are attending the elementary school teaching departments of 6 state universities were included in the research.…

The purpose of our research is to gain a better insight into what encourages young adults, in particular young women, to enter the teaching profession. The empirical part of the article is based on a pilot study including 132 students, with data collection being based on a survey approach using a questionnaire. The research attempts to address the…

Although it has been argued that knowledge on initial motivation for choosing teaching as a career is necessary for improving teacher education programmes and teacher education policies, there is a lack of research investigating this issue in the fields of English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL). Grounded in Watt…

The policy reforms over the past 15 years have placed all the responsibility for reading achievement on teachers, with little, if any, support. What many have achieved is declining achievement in comparison with other countries. Moreover, there are increasing teacher shortages, as promising individuals choose other careers and teachers leave the…

In this study, the relationship between career barriers of women teachers and their alienation to the teaching is examined. Although the number of women teachers was close to the male teachers in the study, the reasons leading to the decrease in the number of women teachers in the administrational career steps were taken as career barriers. The…

Why do individuals all over the world choose to become school teachers? What motivates them to become educators of young people, and how committed are they to this cause when they enter their teacher education courses? Considering that teacher motivation and commitment have been identified as crucial factors for the future success of education and…

The success of educational change inevitably depends on the quality and performance of teachers. Therefore, the importance of employing high quality teachers is crucial for educational systems. Choosing talented and committed brains to teaching career depends on making it an attractive profession. It is considered that there are some reasons why…

This paper presents the early findings from a study that addresses the topic of mature age professionals making a career change into the secondary teaching profession by undertaking a postgraduate coursework initial teacher education program. The paper specifically addresses the factors that affect the decision for mature age professionals to make…

Over the last three decades, research has centred the attention on discrimination within TESOL motivated by issues concerning the distinction between native- and non-native English speaking teachers. However, based upon the authors' experience as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and researchers, it is claimed that discrimination in…

This report adds a significant perspective to the current wave of efforts aimed at diversifying the teacher workforce, specifically to address the mismatch between Latinx students and Latinx teachers. The Latinx population is the largest ethnic group in America's public schools, currently making up a quarter of the student population, and expected…

Edwin, a person contemplating a career in teaching, has a conversation with Phyllis, a teacher and amateur theorist, about reasons to become a teacher.

In this article, we present results from a research project in which the main aim was to understand students' decision-making processes in choosing to become a teacher and to make sense of the relationships between this process and the formation of their identity as a teacher. The study was conducted with 39 students from the Science Teacher…

This paper reports on a qualitative case study that investigated the challenges faced by teachers who teach English as a foreign language at secondary schools in Poland and Turkey. A number of shared challenges affecting teachers in both Poland and Turkey were identified, despite the contrast between these educational contexts. These challenges…

Using a framework of uncertainty that is informed by Hannah Arendt's philosophy this four-semester action research project describes the creation and analysis of an assignment that allows teacher candidates to explore their own uncertainties in regards to the teaching profession. This action research project examines the assignment and its…