Family Background as an Antecedent of Motivation to Teach in Norway

• In Event: 34.019 - Global Perspectives on Teacher Motivation

Abstract

Purpose. Previous studies on motivation to teach have revealed that social utility values or altruistic motivation is a significant factor explaining students’ choice of becoming a teacher (e.g., Berger & D’Ascoli, 2012; König & Rothland, 2012; Lin, Shi, Wang, Zhang, & Hui, 2012; Watt, Richardson, Klusmann, Kunter, Beyer, Trautwein, & Baumert, 2012). The current study seeks to explore the potential antecedents of student teachers’ altruistic motivation.
Framework. Social utility values tap altruistic motivation (Kyriacou & Coulthard, 2000; Müller, Alliata, & Benninghoff, 2009), which, in this context, relates to individuals’ desire to contribute to society in the form of working with the youth, influencing future generations, and contributing to social justice. According to Expectancy–Value theory (Eccles, 2005; Wigfield & Eccles, 1992), both family demographics and socializers’ beliefs and behavior may influence individuals’ self-schema, expectations, and values. In this study, we particularly examined parents’ education and occupation.
Method. The participants were 370 student teachers (63% women, 37% men, mean age: 25) from the teacher education program at the University of Oslo, Norway. In addition to reporting family background, we measured students’ preferences for social utility values by using a Norwegian version of the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice scale (Authors, in press). The dependent variables were 1) shape the future of children/adolescents, 2) enhance social equity, 3) make a social contribution, and 4) work with children/adolescents.
Results. First, we examined parents’ level of education, but we could not find any significant relationships. Several explanations can account for this finding and are elaborated in the presentation (e.g., little variation in parents’ educational level, low social inequity).
Second, we examined parents’ occupations. As much as 27% of the student teachers’ mothers were working in health care, with most of them being nurses. Given the assumption that nurses generally have a high level of altruism because their main responsibility is to take care of sick people, we expected to find a significant link. However, quite disappointingly, none of the tested models turned out to be significant, which means that the mothers’ occupations did not predict the students’ altruistic values.
Concerning fathers’ occupations, the analysis of the variable enhance social equity was significant. Students whose fathers were in social service or service/administration, which required lower education, rated their social equity motivation higher than those students with fathers in science, culture, business, or health care.
The most surprising finding was that the children of health care personnel, the vast majority of which were doctors, had the lowest scores. As in most countries, the doctor occupation has a high status in Norway. Considering their responsibility to take care of sick and vulnerable people, we expect doctors to strongly relay altruistic values to their children.
Significance. At any rate, explaining the relationship between fathers’ occupations and student teachers’ emphases on social utility values is challenging. Many moderating or third variables may influence this relationship. However, this study is a starting point for further exploration of precursors of teachers’ altruistic motivation.

Authors

• Christian Brandmo, Department of Teacher Education and School Development - University of Oslo

• Katrine Nesje, University of Oslo