Teachers' Sources of Motivation: A Qualitative Study

Year 2024, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 69 - 102, 28.06.2024

Kürşat Demir , Beyza Yavuz , Mustafa Yavuz

https://doi.org/10.54535/rep.1407759

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the motivational sources of relatively highly motivated teachers and explore the meanings they attribute to their professional motivation. In accordance with the nature of the study, the phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used. The collected data were analyzed by content analysis, one of the qualitative data analysis approaches. Twenty teachers working in public basic education institutions were interviewed using a semi-structured interview technique. In this study, we examined the themes of school, teaching, and achievement from the perspective of teachers. We also identified the sources of inspiration that led them to choose the teaching profession and their ideal vision of teaching. In addition, sources of motivation, demotivating factors, strategies for coping with challenges, and changes in motivation over time were examined. Finally, teachers' self-evaluations and personal development processes were taken into consideration. In light of these findings, recommendations were made for the development of strategies that support and sustain teacher motivation.

Keywords

Motivation, Motivation sources, Teacher motivation

References

• Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall. https://doi.org/10.1177/105960117700200317
• Bandura, A., Freeman, W. H., & Lightsey, R. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 13(2), 158-166. https://doi.org/10.1891/0889-8391.13.2.158
• Becker, H. S. (1991). Generalizing from case studies. In E. W. Eisner & A. Peshkin (Eds.), Qualitative inquiry in education: The continuing debate (pp. 233–242). Teachers College Press.
• Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. In Introducing Qualitative Methods (Vol. 1).
• Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
• Creswell, J. W. (2021). Nitel araştırma yöntemleri: Beş yaklaşıma göre nitel araştırma ve araştırma deseni [Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches] (M. Bütün & S. B. Demir, Eds.; 6. baskı). Siyasal Kitabevi.
• Day, C. (2004). A passion for teaching. Routledge.
• Day, C., & Gu, Q. (2010). The new lives of teachers. Routledge.
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
• Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. Kappa Delta Pi.
• Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1), 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x
• Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). Teachers College Press.
• Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.
• Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press.
• Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to the teacher shortage. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 30-33. Retrieved from: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:140913072
• Larsson, J., & Holmström, I. (2007). Phenomenographic or phenomenological analysis: Does it matter? Examples from a study on anaesthesiologists’ work. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 2(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482620601068105
• LeCompte, M. D., & Goetz, J. P. (1982). Problems of reliability and validity in ethnographic research. Review of Educational Research, 52(1), 31-60. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543052001031
• Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
• Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (1999). Teacher burnout: A research agenda. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and preventing teacher burnout: A sourcebook of international research and practice (pp. 295-303). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511527784.021
• Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397-422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
• Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
• Maxwell, J. (1992). Understanding and validity in qualitative research. Harvard Educational Review, 62(3), 279-301. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.62.3.8323320856251826
• Moustakas, C. E. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Sage Publications, Inc.
• Noddings, N. (1992). The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education. Teachers College Press.
• Noddings, N. (2005). Caring: A relational approach to ethics and moral education. University of California Press.
• Patton, M. Q., & Schwandt, T. A. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods + The Sage dictionary of qualitative inquiry (4th ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020
• Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
• Sparkes, A. C., & Smith, B. (2013). Qualitative research methods in sport exercise and health: From process to product. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852187
• Tait, M. (2008). Resilience as a contributor to novice teacher success, commitment, and retention. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(4), 57-75. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ838701.pdf
• Trigwell, K. (2000). Phenomenography: Variation and discernment. Improving Student Learning. Proceedings of the 1999 7th International Symposium, 75–85.
• van Manen, M. (2016). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315421056
• Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.