In this large-scale qualitative study, we use an emergent design to explore pre-service teachers' (PST) motivations to enter the profession. We open-code 2,798 PSTs responses to the directive, 'Explain why you decided to become a teacher', given over the course of a six-year period from one large Texas teacher preparation programme. Using constant…

The quality of teacher education plays an important role in improving the quality of general education. The model of teacher education is also different in countries around the world, and for each model, training teachers suitable for teaching profession is always a matter of concern in the training programs of universities. The paper analyzes the…

As an epoch-making event, Covid re-set understandings of teacher professionalism, raising the question what it might now mean to be a 'professional teacher'. This paper draws on data from interviews conducted in 2021 with eight academics employed in Australian teacher education programs as part of a wider study, "Critical Times: Producing the…

We survey undergraduate students at a large public university to understand the pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors driving their college major and career decisions with a focus on K-12 teaching. While the average student reports there is a 6% chance they will pursue teaching, almost 27% report a nonzero chance of working as a teacher in the…

This paper investigated teacher wellbeing in a rapidly expanding educational context of Universities of the Third Age in China. Based on the analysis of 48 metaphors innovatively elicited from 27 teacher participants, important cognitive, affective and social aspects of teaching and learning that configure teacher wellbeing have been outlined. It…

Through a Systems Theory Framework, the study explored the systems of influence on male teachers' career development within individual, social, and environmental-societal contexts. Four male Qatari teachers recounted their stories of career past, present and future in this life history study. Narrative data from four female teachers were also…

I consider how teachers discursively instantiate their identities through narrative work, which I frame using the metaphor of weaving a tapestry of the self, and drawing together a conceptualisation of technologies of the self with ideas around performativity, agency and psycho-technologies. I have included data from my analysis of sixteen life…

This work aims to investigate the causes behind teachers leaving their profession in France, as well as the aspects that influence some teachers to stay in. The phenomenon of teacher dropout and abandonment is increasingly prevalent in OECD countries, particularly affecting new teachers. Taking a social psychological perspective, the research…

Professional development (PD) plays a critical role in supporting teacher quality and retention, ultimately affecting student achievement. The pandemic has altered the traditional educational landscape for teachers, making effective PD essential. This qualitative study sought to explore an impact team model (ITM) of PD as an effective form of PD,…

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event in modern educational history that resulted in a dramatic upheaval of the traditional school system. The shift from brick-and-mortar to virtual instruction resulted in profound anxiety and demand (Kush et al., 2021). As the quarantine ended, the return to the physical classroom brought with it new,…

Teacher recruitment is a pressing need in the United States. Equally important is the recruitment of more racial-minority teachers to help close the teacher-student diversity gap. We surveyed 300 undergraduates at our university regarding their perspectives on teaching careers--what they found attractive and deterring. Results from this survey and…

There is a teacher shortage across the United States, and California, specifically, is experiencing a shortage. The shortage is compounded by teachers leaving the profession with reports of significant dissatisfaction (Darling-Hammond et al., 2023). Low enrollment in teacher preparation programs and a decline in individuals pursuing degrees in…

This small scale study looks at the challenges teachers face and their attitudes. Drawing from the literature on teacher attrition, teacher burnout, and teacher collective efficacy, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a group of five teachers selected from a convenience sample. Three themes emerged: teachers struggle with students'…

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between career retention factors and selected demographic characteristics of school based agricultural educators within the state of Alabama. Identifying these factors will help state leaders determine what is or is not working and how to make changes that will have the largest impact on…

The issue of the multiple links between teachers' work, schooling processes, and social inequalities has been one of the greatest concerns in the field of educational research in Argentina in recent decades. The way in which the task of teaching and the problem of inequality are related and configured has integrated the agendas of the different…