Motivation to teach: The differences between faculty in schools of education and K-12 teachers

Authors

Nancy L. Leech, University of Colorado DenverFollow
Kara Mitchell Viesca, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Carolyn A. Haug, University of Colorado Denver

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2019

Citation

Published in International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, Vol. 21 No. 3 (2019), pp. 190-203

DOI 10.1108/IJCED-01-2019-0012

Comments

Copyright © 2019 Emerald Publishing Limited. Used by permission.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate higher education faculty’s motivation to teach and to validate the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) survey with this population.

Design/methodology/approach – Confirmatory factor analysis and t-tests on data from 101 higher education faculty and data from K-12 teachers show that the two samples fit the model similarly.

Findings – Results show that the similarities between the two groups are important to note as it suggests both the value of the FIT-Choice instrument as a research tool in higher education as well as the similarities in motivating factors between higher education faculty and in-service K-12 teachers.

Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to use the FIT-Choice scale with university education faculty.