The Persistence of Motivations to Teach: A Study of First-Year Teachers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Motivation in K-12 Contexts

Abstract

This study explores motivations to teach for career changers in an alternative teacher preparation program called the Alternative Certification for Science and Mathematics (ACSM) Program. Participants in this study did not initially choose teaching as a career; rather, different motivations and the larger economic recession influenced them to consider teaching. Data were gathered over the span of participants’ entire first year in the classroom. Findings suggest that participants’ initial motivations to teach include the influence of others, the influence of previous informal teaching experiences, and participants’ racial identities. Over time, however, participants began to realize the importance of their relationships with students and the influence of the mentoring they received.

Author

• Brie Morettini, Rowan University