This qualitative study examined teachers' commitment to, and experiences of, the teaching profession in six regions of Tanzania. The study used focus group discussions as research method and data collection tool. Twenty four groups were conducted, with group membership ranging from five to nine participants. The results show that the teachers'…

The study presents results founded upon the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice scale validation and the relations between personality traits and motivation for teaching in Croatia. A sample of 374 first-year preservice teachers from three universities participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis of the items comprising the Croatian…

The purpose of this research paper is the investigation of, and the sociological approach to, and interpretation of the attitudes of male and female students in the University Department of Primary Education (U.D.P.E.) at the University of Patras in Greece, before the enforcement of the IMF Memorandum, concerning the choice of the teaching…

In this descriptive study, we examined the influences and experiences motivating students to enter college-level music schools as reported by a population of precollegiate students auditioning (but not yet accepted) to music education degree programs. As a follow-up to a published pilot study, this research was designed to quantify the various…

Public schools are suffering from a well-publicized diversity problem. Minority students make up nearly half of all public school students, yet minority teachers comprise just 18 percent of the teacher workforce. In an effort to address what Slate has described as "the one cause in education everyone supports," school districts across…

This study aimed to examine the relationships among prospective teachers' interest in teaching, professional engagement and career development aspirations, and career choice satisfaction. A total of 602 prospective teachers from various primary (for example, primary school teaching) and secondary (for example, English language teaching) teacher…

Despite the importance of recruiting highly qualified individuals into the science teaching profession, little is known about the effectiveness of particular recruitment strategies. Over 3 years, 34 college science majors and undecided students were recruited into paid internships in informal science settings to consider secondary science teaching…

There are many possible sources that may influence teachers in the acquisition of professional knowledge and skills throughout their careers. The current study analyzes 26 interviews with Israeli female teachers who reported on exemplary teachers from their past who served as role models regarding class management. Contrary to our initial…

Many school systems today are trying to attract top college graduates into teaching, but little is known about what dissuades this target group from entering the profession. This study randomly assigned applicants for a highly-selective alternative pathway into teaching in Argentina either to a survey about their motivations for applying to the…

This study reports teacher candidate beliefs about the purposes of schooling and their reasons for choosing a career in teaching. The beliefs are analyzed in relation to the moral work of teaching, and the findings suggest that teacher candidates choose teaching as a career, in part, to engage in moral work, and that they believe that schooling…

The primary purpose of this study was to understand how high-quality teachers who began their career through Teach For America (TFA) became resilient while teaching in challenging, high-poverty schools. A secondary purpose of this study was to ascertain how, if at all, the teaching experiences of TFA teachers who stayed in the profession differed…

This study was conducted to (a) explore high achieving high school students' perceptions of the teaching profession, (b) examine the influence of these perceptions on intentions to teach, and (c) test a recruitment suite of tools to determine the effectiveness of recruitment messaging and strategies. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)…

The proposed federal STEM Teacher Pathway program seeks to produce 100,000 new, high-quality math and science teachers in the next decade. How difficult will the goal be to achieve? This report uses data from the ACT® college readiness assessment to examine the feasibility of producing 100,000 high-quality math and science teachers in the next…

The purpose of this paper is to explore teacher motivation and well-being. Our analysis focuses on two central concepts, the notion of a "calling to teach" and of teacher "hopefulness." Data from 205 preservice and inservice teachers were collected to determine teachers' sense of calling and level of hope. Results indicate that overwhelmingly,…

Interest in faculty careers decreases as graduate training progresses; however, the process underlying career-interest formation remains poorly defined. To better understand this process and whether/how it differs across social identity (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender), we conducted focus groups with 38 biomedical scientists who received PhDs…