Low Commitment to a Teaching Career: Hesitation, Doubt, and Discouragement

• In Event: Lives of Novice Teachers

Abstract

Given the raising concern of pre-service teachers’ decreasing enrollment and high attrition rate, this study aims at understanding pre-service teachers’ commitment to the teaching career, especially the proportion of pre-service teachers who display low commitment and the perceived factors that contribute to their low commitment. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, 326 pre-service teachers participated a survey, followed by 16 pre-service teachers’ semi-structured interviews. 101 participants (30.9%) displayed low commitment. Four themes were identified that attributed to their low commitment: i) challenging school environment and demanding policy, ii) negative social influences (e.g., family, friends, and society), iii) low confidence and fear about teaching, and iv) competing life goals. Implications for teacher education program and policy makers were discussed.

Authors

• Ji Y. Hong, University of Oklahoma

• Qian Wang, The University of Oklahoma

• Dionne Cross Francis, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill