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The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/54952 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation
Author: Moses, I.
Title: Student-teachers' commitment to teaching Issue Date: 2017-09-07
Student-teachers’
Commitment to Teaching
IKUPA MOSES
Student-teachers’ Commitment to Teaching
ICLON, Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching
The research was carried out in the context of the Dutch Interuniversity Center for Educational Sciences.
This research was funded by the Netherlands Organization for International Coperation in Higher Education (Nuffic)
Title: Student-teachers’ commitment to teaching
Titel: Affiniteit van aanstaande docenten met het docentschap ICLON PhD Dissertation Series
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ISBN/EAN: 978-94-90383-17-6
© 2017, Ikupa Moses
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Student-teachers’ commitment to teaching
Proefschrift
ter verkrijging van
de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker,
volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 7 september 2017
klokke 10.00 uur
door
Ikupa Moses
geboren te Rungwe Tanzania in 1974
Promotores
Prof. dr. Wilfried Admiraal
Prof. dr. Amanda Berry, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Copromotor
Dr. Nadira Saab Promotiecommissie Prof. dr. Fred Janssen Prof. dr. Ton Dietz
Prof. dr. Paulien Meijer, Radboud University Nijmegen Dr. Rosanne Zwart, Utrecht University
Dr. Jacobiene Meirink
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 9
1.1 The problem 10
1.2 The context of this dissertation 11 1.3 Conceptual-theoretical framework 13
1.3.1 Conceptualizing teacher commitment 15
1.3.2 Commitment to teaching factors 15
1.4 Overview of the dissertation 16
CHAPTER 2. FACTORS OF STUDENT- TEACHERS’COMMITMENT TO TEACHING AND INTENTION TO ENTER THE TEACHING PROFESSION 18
2.1 Introduction 20
2.2 Conceptual-theoretical framework 21
2.2.1 Factors related to student-teachers’ commitment to teaching 21
Personal characteristics 21
Environmental determinants 22
Learning experiences 23
2.3 Methodology 24
2.3.1 Procedure and participants 24
2.3.2 Instruments 25
Commitment to teaching 27
Intention to enter the teaching profession 28
Personal characteristics 28
Environmental determinants 30
Learning experiences 31
2.3.3 Analysis 33
2.4 Results 33
2.4.1 Student-teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession 33 2.4.2 Student-teachers’ commitment to student learning 34 2.4.3 Student-teachers’ intention to enter the teaching profession 36
2.5 Discussion and conclusion 36
2.5.1 Implications 39
2.5.2 Concluding remarks 40
CHAPTER 3. GENDER AND GENDER ROLE DIFFERENCES IN
STUDENT-TEACHERS’ COMMITMENT TO TEACHING 41
3.1 Introduction 43
3.2 Conceptual-theoretical framework 44
3.2.1 Gender, gender roles and occupation 44
3.2.2 Teaching as a feminized profession 44
3.2.3 Commitment to teaching 46
3.2.4 Relationship between gender and commitment to the teaching profession 46
3.2.5 The Tanzanian context 47
Teacher recruitment 47
Condition of the teaching profession 47
3.3 The current study 48
3.4 Methodology 48
3.4.1 Procedure and participants 48
3.4.2 Measures 49
Commitment to teaching 42
Intention to enter the teaching profession 50
Gender and gender role 50
Covariates 52
Analysis 53
3.5 Results 54
3.5.1 Gender role types 54
3.5.2 Relationship between gender, gender roles and commitment to teaching 55
3.5.3 Relationship between gender, gender roles and intentions to enter the teaching profession 56
3.6 Discussion 56
3.7 Limitations 58
3.8 Conclusion 59
CHAPTER 4. TYPOLOGY OF STUDENT-TEACHERS 60
4.1 Introduction 62
4.2 Theoretical background 63
4.2.1 Commitment to teaching 63
4.2.2 Student-teachers’ motives for teaching 63
4.2.3 Student-teachers’ typology 64
4.3 Methodology 67
4.3.1 Research context and participants 67
4.3.2 Data collection 68
Commitment to teaching 69
Motivation to enter the teaching profession 69
Perception of the teaching profession and environmental aspects 69
4.3.3 Data analysis 70
4.4 Results 70
4.4.1 Committed passionate 71
Motivation to enter the profession 71
Perception of the teaching profession and environmental aspects 72
4.4.2 Committed compromisers 72
Motivation to enter the profession 73
Perception of the teaching profession and environmental aspects 73
4.4.3 Undecided 73
Motivation to enter the profession 74
Perception of the teaching profession and environmental aspects 74
4.4.4 Uncommitted 75
4.5 Discussion and conclusion 75
4.5.1 Limitations 76
4.5.2 Implications for teacher education 76
4.5.3 Concluding remarks 77
CHAPTER 5. UNDERLYING THEMES WITHIN TEACHER EDUCATION THAT ARE RELATED TO STUDENT-TEACHERS’ COMMITMENT TO TEACHING 79
5.1 Introduction 81
5.1.1 Commitment to teaching 81
5.2 Methodology 82
5.2.1 Search and selection procedure of articles 83
5.3 Results 84
5.3.1 Underlying themes within teacher education resulting from ‘campus-based’ experiences 85 5.3.2 Underlying themes within teacher education resulting from
‘school-based’ (practical) experiences 88
5.3.3 Teacher education courses and connections between theory and practice 93
5.4 Discussion 94
5.5 Conclusion 99
5.5.1 Implications for teacher education 99
5.5.2 Implications for research 101
CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 103 6.1 Introduction 105
6.2 Summary of studies 105
6.2.1 Study 1: Factors of student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and intention to enter the teaching profession 105
6.2.2 Study 2: Gender and gender role differences in student- teachers’ commitment to teaching 107 6.2.3 Study 3: Typology of student-teachers 108
6.2.4 Study 4: Characteristics of teacher education and student- teachers’ commitment to teaching 110 6.3 Methodological reflections 113
6.3.1 Use of questionnaire 113
6.3.2 The way teacher education program elements are measured 114
6.3.3 Issues of generalizability 115
6.4 Practical implications 116
6.4.1 Implications for teacher education programmes 116
6.4.2 Implication for the selection of student-teachers for the program / of teachers for a job 119
6.5 Final conclusion 120
References 122
Summary 135
Samenvatting 144
Appendices Appendix A Summary of studies included in the review study 153 Appendix B Commitment to teaching questionnaire 162
Appendix C Interview guide topics 171
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1. Introduction
1.1 The Problem
Commitment to teaching is a topic of interest among many researchers in education because of its important contribution to teachers’ entrance and retention in the teaching profession. For example, Rots, Aelterman, Vlerick and Vermeulen (2007) and Rots and Aelterman (2009) assert that student-teachers’ commitment to teaching is an important predictor for their intention to enter the teaching profession and actual entrance into the teaching profession, respectively. In the studies of Billingsley (2004), Chan, Lau, Nie, Li, and Hogan (2008); Day, Elliot and Kington (2005), Klassen and Chiu (2011), and Tait (2008), a positive influence of teachers’ commitment on their job satisfaction and retention in the teaching profession has been found. Finally, teachers’ commitment is also understood as an important factor indirectly influencing school students’
motivation and performance (Reyes, 1990; Rosenholtz, 1989).
Internationally, low levels of commitment to teaching amongst teachers is a problem facing the profession, that is reflected in high rates of teacher attrition evidenced through voluntary resignation, absenteeism, and dissatisfied and demotivated teachers (Macdonald 1999; Mulkeen, Chapman, Dejueghere, & Leu, 2007; Mulkeen & Crowe-Taft 2010).
Internationally, trends in the literature show not only that most teachers leave the profession within the first five years (Guarino, Santibañez,
& Daley, 2006; Mulkeen et al., 2007; Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development [OECD], 2005; UNESCO, 2010), but also that many teacher education graduates do not even enter the teaching profession after graduation (Chan, 2006; Ingersoll, 2001; Rots et al., 2007). Consequently, attrition results in high levels of teacher shortage (Cooper & Alvarado, 2006; DeAngelis & Presley, 2011; Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2005; 2014; Mulkeen et al., 2007; Mulkeen & Crowe-Taft, 2010). Estimates from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics [UIS] (2016) confirm an urgent need for millions of additional teachers to push the world towards its education goals to achieve universal primary and secondary education. UIS insists that in order to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030 as part of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), a total of 68.8
million teachers: 24.4 million primary school teachers and 44.4 million secondary school teachers must be recruited globally. Thus, in order to reach these estimates, committed teachers and student-teachers who are willing to enter and stay for reasonable number of years in the profession are needed. This study sought to contribute knowledge to understanding factors related to student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and the teaching profession.
1.2 The Context of This Dissertation
This dissertation is set in the context of Tanzania mainland. Demand for teachers in Tanzania mainland is very high, as the number of school- aged children has rapidly increased in response to population growth rate. Moreover, the demand for teachers in Tanzania has also increased following the governments’ implementation of Primary and Secondary Education Development Programs (PEDP I, II and SEDP I, II) from 2004 to 2014 (The United Republic of Tanzania [URT], 2010). PEDP and SEDP are among the Educational Sector Development Programmes put forward by the Tanzanian government as a commitment to achieving Universal Primary Education. In response to the teacher shortage, a focus on attracting, training, and retaining adequate number of high-quality teachers was one among many objectives of the SEDP II (URT, 2010).
For the past ten years, the government practice has been to give study- loan priority to students enrolling in teacher education together with offers of direct employment upon graduation. The Higher Education Loan is a loan given to Tanzanian students pursuing studies in higher education to cover their tuition fees, meal, accommodation, field training and other special faculty requirements. These teacher training and recruitment practices in Tanzania motivate students to enter the teacher education program. However, research in Tanzania shows that many student teachers enter teacher education as a last resort connected to a strong extrinsic motivation: their reasons to enter the program seem to be disconnected from a passion or commitment to teaching, rather they just want to have a job, with many planning to leave teaching soon as they find another job (Kitta & Fussy, 2013; Towse, Kent, Osaki, & Kirua, 2001; Tungaraza, 2012). This situation leads to an overall picture of non-committed teachers in Tanzanian primary and secondary education.
For teacher education, student-teachers who are not committed to the
profession may not make an effort to make a career of the teaching profession.
Furthermore, studies with in-service teachers in Tanzania found that commitment to teaching among teachers is very low (Mkumbo, 2012; Sumra, 2005; Sumra & Katabaro, 2014). As research indicates a strong connection between student-teachers’ initial commitment and intention to enter the teaching profession (Rots et al., 2007;
2009) and teacher retention (Chapman, 1984), the current dissertation investigated factors related to student-teachers’ commitment to teaching.
In particular, it investigated factors that explain differences in student- teachers’ commitment to teaching. The research reported in this dissertation mainly involved undergraduate student-teachers in Tanzania mainland who are preparing to teach in secondary schools and teacher training colleges in Tanzania. According to Sumra (2005), in Tanzania, commitment problems are more pronounced in teachers at secondary levels compared with primary level which might be related to the higher schooling level of secondary teachers who have therefore more job opportunities. In Tanzania teachers in primary schools have a certificate in education qualifications, whereas teachers in secondary schools have a diploma or bachelor degree in education qualifications. This dissertation aimed at investigating the relationship between undergraduate student- teachers’ commitment to teaching, on the one hand, and their personal characteristics, learning experiences and environmental determinants impacting the teaching career, on the other hand. Understanding these factors could offer insights to policy makers and practitioners in teacher education regarding how to select and prepare student-teachers and how to improve student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. Four studies, each addressing a separate research question guided this dissertation.
The first study examined factors that could explain differences in Tanzanian student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. Although there is an abundance of literature on low commitment of teachers and high attrition rate among teachers, an overview of all potential factors influencing student-teachers’ commitment to teaching is still missing, especially in the Tanzanian secondary school context. Therefore, the first research question addressed in this dissertation is:
1. What factors explain differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and their intention to enter the teaching profession?
The second study focused on the role of gender and gender roles in predicting differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. One reason for investigating gender roles is the feminization of the teaching profession reported internationally and motivations to enter teacher education and the teaching profession in the Tanzanian context, which might be quite different between males and females. Another reason is the ambiguous findings, reported in literature with respect to gender differences and commitment to teaching. Therefore, the second research questions addressed in this dissertation is:
2. How is student–teachers’ gender and gender roles related to their commitment to teaching?
In order to be able to translate findings from studies 1 and 2 to supporting student-teachers in developing their commitment to teaching, we should know more about the different types of student-teachers and how they can be distinguished. Therefore in study 3, we developed a typology of student-teachers based on their commitment to teaching with the research question:
3. How can student-teachers be classified on the basis of their levels of commitment to teaching?
Finally, the fourth study focused on the teacher education program itself.
In the first three studies, we described the problem of commitment and factors influencing it. In the fourth study, we wanted to know more about what can be done in teacher education to enhance student-teachers’
commitment to teaching. Therefore, the fourth research question is:
4. What underlying themes within teacher education are related to student teachers’ commitment to teaching?
1.3 Conceptual-theoretical Framework 1.3.1 Conceptualizing Teacher Commitment
How we conceptualize and measure teacher commitment differs from different studies. We will describe our definition of commitment to teaching at the end of this section. Generally speaking, commitment, as defined twenty years ago when researchers initially conceptualized commitment to a profession, refers to a high level of attachment to someone or something in a social endeavour and can manifest itself
in extra investment of personal resources such as time, money, or effort (Tyree, 1996). Commitment is a multidimensional construct and different researchers identify various dimensions which basically overlap. There is no clear cut distinction between the ways in which researchers describe different types of commitment. For instance, with respect to commitment to a profession, Meyer, Allen and Smith (1993) distinguished three dimensions of commitment, namely: (a) affective commitment which entails positive emotions towards a profession and strong desire to remain in that profession; (b) continuance commitment which refers to being aware of the costs of leaving a profession; and (c) normative commitment which refer to the feeling of obligation to remain in a profession. At the same time, other scholars explain the dimensions of commitment in a slightly different way. For example, Tyree (1996) identified three dimensions of commitment as: 1) strong identification with (i.e., a strong intrinsic attachment), 2) extra involvement with (i.e., expenditure of non-required resources), and 3) strong loyalty to (i.e., a willingness to forego other opportunities and remain) a referent. While the dimensions identified by Meyer et al (1993) are based on motives and reasons for becoming committed to something, the dimensions identified by Tyree (1996) are based on describing characteristics or behaviours that are likely to be shown by a committed person. That means different individuals may show different behaviour depending on their reasons for commitment. The highly committed individual in Tyree’s dimensions may fall under the affective commitment category in Meyer et al.’s dimensions.
Commitment entails a referent, that is, commitment to something outside the individual, for example, an organization or a particular activity. In the teaching profession commitment is commonly associated with commitment objects such as the teaching profession, the school organization, students and teaching subjects (Dannetta 2002; Tyree 1996). Thus commitment is understood as a multidimensional construct.
However, in most cases, measurements focus on a single object of commitment. The common measure of teacher commitment focuses on attrition whereby teachers are asked to respond to that question about whether they would choose the teaching profession if they had to take a decision again (Coladarci, 1992) and how many years they plan to stay in the profession (e.g. Bruinsma & Jansen, 2010). Measuring commitment in this way views teacher commitment as commitment to the profession.
Furthermore, it has been observed that in operationalizing and measuring teacher commitment, researchers tend to view it either with a positive or a negative frame of reference (Chesnut & Burley, 2015).
A positive frame focusses on aspects of increasing psychological attachment, longevity of teaching career, and promoting entrance of preservice teachers into the teaching profession. A negative frame focusses on aspects that influence detachment, depersonalization and ultimately withdrawal from the profession.
In this dissertation, commitment to teaching refers to student- teachers’ positive emotions towards the teaching profession, their willingness to enter the profession and to give their time and energy to the processes of teaching and learning. In our measure, we included items capturing commitment to the profession, school subject and student learning.
1.3.2 Commitment to Teaching Factors
Researchers investigating student-teachers’ commitment to teaching have focused on various aspects including variables related to teacher education as well as personal, contextual and work-related factors. For example, Rots and Aelterman (2009), Rots et al. (2007), and Rots, Aelterman, Devos and Vlerick (2010) identified teacher education variables such as faculty support, mentoring support and type of teacher education (i.e., elementary or secondary teaching). Chesnut and Cullen (2014) focused on student-teachers’ personal factors, and identified emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and satisfaction with work expectations as important factors influencing commitment to teaching. Some researchers, focusing on the practicum, identified contextual and personal factors related to student- teachers’ commitment to teaching. For example, Klassen et al. (2013) found that stress from school student behaviour and teacher workload was significantly and negatively correlated with commitment, and that self- efficacy was significantly and positively associated with commitment to teaching. Durksen & Klassen (2012) identified the critical influence of personal resources (e.g. self-efficacy and resilience) and job resources (e.g. support from educational professionals and collaborative work climate) on student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. The current dissertation organizes the commitment variables reported in the literature using Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). The theory posits that an individual’s psychological functioning is a result of a
dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the person, learning experiences, and environment. Thus the dissertation investigates student-teachers’
commitment to teaching in relation to their personal characteristics, learning experiences and environmental determinants impacting the teaching career.
1.4 Overview of the Dissertation
The dissertation is organized following the sequence of the research questions, as each research question forms a study (Chapters 2 - 5).
These chapters focus on answering the main goal of the dissertation, to investigate student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. Chapter six provides a general discussion of the studies, methodological reflections, practical implications and a final conclusion.
Chapter 2 addresses the first research question. The study examined the relationship between student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and their personal characteristics, learning experiences and environmental factors impacting the teaching career. Specifically this study sought to answer the question, “Which factors explain differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and intention to enter the profession?” To answer this question we used a questionnaire administered to 3,246 Tanzanian student-teachers, analysed using forced entry multiple regression. The study provides an overview of factors related to Tanzanian student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and their intention to enter the teaching profession after graduation. The study and findings are structured based on Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) framework.
In chapter 3, we provide a study on gender and gender role differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. We conducted this study with regard to facts that in many countries internationally female workforce dominates teaching particularly at early childhood and primary levels, Tanzania is moving towards feminization of the teaching profession. Three research questions guided the study: 1) What are student teachers’ gender role types? 2) How do female and male student-teachers and student-teachers with different gender role types vary in their commitment to teaching? And, 3) How do female and male student-teachers and student-teachers with different gender role types vary in their intentions to enter the teaching profession? In total, 3,246 Tanzanian student-teachers completed a commitment and Bem Sex Role
Inventory (BSRI) questionnaire. We performed a cluster analysis to establish student-teachers’ gender role clusters and analysis of covariance to establish the relationship between student-teachers’ gender, gender roles and commitment to teaching.
The third research question forms the third study presented in Chapter 4. This study aimed at identifying student-teacher types based on their levels of commitment, motivation to enter the teaching profession, their perceptions of the teaching profession and environmental aspects.
The study intended to seek answer to the following two questions 1)
“How can student-teachers be classified on the basis of their levels of commitment to teaching?” and 2) “How can these types from RQ1 be elaborated with information on student-teachers’ motivation for teaching and their perceptions of the teaching profession and environmental aspects?” We employed an interview guide approach to answer these questions. This method gave insights into student-teachers’ levels of commitment, their motivation to enter teaching and their attitudes towards teaching and the teaching profession.
Chapter 5 presents a review study. The review sought to investigate which underlying themes within teacher education that might influence student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. We used a systematic review of the literature to establish themes within teacher education that are related to the theoretical or institutional component of teacher education and those related to the practical component in schools.
Chapter 6 provides a summary and general discussion of the studies presented in Chapters 2 – 5. We also present methodological reflections, practical implications and provide some concluding remarks.
CHAPTER 2 Factors of Student-teachers’
Commitment to Teaching and Intention to Enter the Profession
11 This chapter has been submitted for publication in an adapted form as:
Moses, I., Saab, N., Berry, A., & Admiraal, W. (under review).
Student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and intentions to enter the teaching profession in Tanzania
Abstract
Commitment to teaching is a recurring topic in both research and policy discussions on teaching and the teaching profession. We investigated factors explaining differences in student-teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession and to student learning, and their intentions to enter the teaching profession. Student-teachers (n=3246) from one University College in Tanzania completed a Commitment-to-Teaching questionnaire. Bandura’s Social-Cognitive Theory was used to structure the findings. Differences in student-teachers’ commitment were explained by Personal characteristics (i.e., student-teachers’ sense of Self-efficacy), Environmental factors (i.e., perceived influence of Significant others and School conditions), and Learning experiences (i.e., student-teachers’
attitudes towards the teaching profession, their teaching subjects, and satisfaction with the teacher education programme). Implications for practice and for research on student-teachers’ commitment to teaching are discussed.
2.1 Introduction
High levels of teacher shortage is reported in schools internationally as a result of a failure to recruit and retain a sufficient number of teachers (Cooper & Alvarado, 2006; DeAngelis & Presley, 2011; Economic Co- operation and Development [OECD], 2005; 2014; Mulkeen, Chapman,
& Dejueghere, 2007; Mulkeen & Crowe-Taft, 2010). Estimates from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics [UIS] (2016) confirm the urgent need for millions of additional teachers to propel the world towards its education goals. In order to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030 as part of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), countries must recruit a total of 68.8 million teachers: 24.4 million primary school teachers and 44.4 million secondary school teachers globally. In most cases, teacher retention is affected by high teacher attrition within the first five years of entry into the profession reported in both developed and developing countries (DeAngelis & Presley, 2011; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; OECD 2014; Mulkeen et al., 2007). Moreover, research shows that many graduates do not enter the teaching profession after graduation (Rots, Aelterman, Vlerick & Vermeulen, 2007). Arguably, this affects recruitment processes and targets. Furthermore, research has shown that in-service teachers’ retention and attrition (Billingsley, 2004; Day, Elliot, & Kington, 2005; Klassen & Chiu, 2011; Tait, 2008), and student- teachers’ intention and entrance in the teaching profession (Rots et al., 2007; Rots & Aelterman, 2009) is connected to teachers/student-teachers’
commitment to teaching: Teachers with low levels of commitment are most likely to leave the profession. One way to encounter teacher attrition is to enhance commitment to teaching among teachers and student-teachers.
The current study makes a contribution to understanding the factors that are related to student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. Understanding these factors will give light to practitioners in teacher education on what to consider in order to enhance commitment to teaching among student- teachers.
Like many sub-Saharan African countries, Tanzania also experiences a serious teacher shortage. Teacher shortage in Tanzania increased following governments’ implementation of Primary and Secondary Education Development Programs (PEDP I, II and SEDP I, II) from 2004 to 2014. The Tanzanian government increased its focus to training and recruitment of teachers by giving study-loan priority
to students enrolling in teacher education and offering them direct employment upon graduation. Consequently, teaching has become the most reliable formal sector employment for graduates in the country.
These recruitment practices have led to more students entering teacher education programmes. However, research from Tanzania also shows that many students enter teacher education with a strong extrinsic motivation and that many of them have no intention of entering the teaching profession, or intend to leave soon after employment (Towse, Kent, Osaki & Kirua, 2002; Tungaraza, 2012). The current study aimed to investigate in the Tanzanian context factors that explain differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and intention to enter the profession.
2.2Conceptual-theoretical Framework
2.2.1Factors Related to Student-teachers’ Commitment
The current study conceptualizes commitment to teaching as student- teachers’ psychological attachment to the teaching profession (cf., Danenetta, 2002; Tyree, 1996). This entails student-teachers’ positive emotions towards the teaching profession, their willingness to enter the profession, stay in the profession, and to give their time and energy to the teaching and learning processes. We used Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) as a framework for the factors that are identified in literature on student-teachers’ commitment. The theory posits that an individual’s psychological functioning is a result of a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the person, learning experiences, and environment.
Personal characteristics
According to SCT, one significant personal characteristic is self-efficacy.
In teaching, a sense of self-efficacy applies to situations where a teacher judges his or her capability to bring about desired learning outcomes among students (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001). Literature generally show a positive relationship between student-teachers’ self-efficacy and commitment to teaching (Chesnut & Cullen, 2014; Klassen &
Chiu, 2011; Klassen, Wilson, Siu, Hannok, Wong, Wongsri, Sonthisap, Pibulchol, Buranachaitavee & Jansem, 2013; Rots et al., 2007), with self- efficacy as a significant predictor of whether student teachers will enter
the profession upon graduation (Rots, Aelterman & Devos, 2014).
In addition, gender and age are important personal factors that explain student-teachers’ differences in commitment to teaching. In a review study, Guarino, Santibanez and Daley (2006) found higher positive attitudes to the teaching profession and intention to enter the teaching profession among female teachers than male teachers. This gender difference is confirmed in studies not included in Guarino et al.’s review. For example, Maliki (2013) found that female student-teachers in Nigeria showed a more positive attitude towards the teaching profession than their male counterparts and Rots et al. (2014) found that Belgian female student-teachers showed greater intentions than males to enter the teaching profession following graduation.
With respect to age literature generally indicates that young people are less committed to the teaching profession. Guarino et al.
(2006) found higher attrition among younger than older teachers. Young people tend not to be seriously committed to staying in the profession, and they approach teaching tentatively, talking of ‘exploring teaching’ as a career option (Johnson & Kardos, 2005). Likewise, Watt, Richardson and Tysvaer (2007) found that individuals who considered changing from teaching (“highly-engaged switchers”) comprised mainly the youngest pre-service teachers in their sample.
Environmental determinants
Individual expectations and perceptions of the future work environment are important aspects determining motivation and commitment to enter the teaching profession (Chesnut & Cullen, 2014) including work-related factors and educational and familial structures. Work-related factors enhancing or diminishing commitment to teaching among student- teachers are school context, workload, student behaviour, colleagues and school leadership (Chesnut & Cullen, 2014; Klassen & Chiu, 2011;
Shwu-yong & Waxman, 2009).
Other environmental factors identified in literature include features of the teacher education program such as subject specialization and social influence that is, influence from parents, friends and teachers.
Regarding subject specialization, Rots, Aelterman, Devos and Vlerick (2010) found that student-teachers who qualified to teach ‘expression’
subjects (such as physical education or arts) were almost twenty percent less likely to enter teaching compared to student-teachers from other
subject specialisations. Kılınç, Watt and Richardson (2012) found that science-related student-teachers scored more highly on teaching as a ‘fall- back’ career and lower on other motivation factors for choosing teaching.
Concerning social influence, Schutz, Crowder and White (2001) and Thomson, Turner and Nietfeld (2012) found a positive relationship with student-teachers’ decision to become teachers with the more positive significant others, the more committed student teachers were. Wolhuter, Van der Walt, Potgieter, Meyer and Mamiala (2012) found (extended) family the most important source of inspiration for teaching among student-teachers in South Africa.
Learning experiences
Student-teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession may be a result of learning from their school and social environment and student- teachers enter the teacher education with pre-existing beliefs and attitudes towards teaching as a profession based on these experiences.
In Australia, Richardson and Watt (2006) found that student-teachers perceived teaching as a highly emotionally demanding career with a heavy workload, a career with relatively low social status and low salary.
In the same study, student-teachers also reported having experienced quite strong social dissuasion from choosing a career in teaching. Student- teachers’ negative perceptions of the teaching profession have also been highlighted in other studies (Cf. Maliki, 2013; Tungaraza, 2012).
The role of the teacher education programme in enhancing student-teachers’ commitment is paramount. Rots, Kelchtermans and Aelterman (2012) found student-teachers’ motivation and intention to enter teaching increased as they continued in teacher education, with main influencing factors being learning about pedagogical theories, practical teaching and mentor support. The influence of mentor support on student- teachers’ commitment to the profession has also been shown in other studies (Christophersen, Solhaug, & Turmo, 2016; Durksen & Klassen, 2012; Rots & Aelterman, 2009; Rots et al., 2007, 2010, 2014). Finally, the extent to which nearly graduated student-teachers feel prepared for teaching was also found to be a significant predictor of their decision to enter the profession upon graduation (Rots et al., 2014).
The current study focuses on student-teachers and brings together a number of factors identified in the literature into one framework, using
the lens of Social Cognitive Theory. The following research question guided our study:
“Which factors explain differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and intention to enter the profession?”
2.3Methodology
2.3.1Procedure and Participants
The study was conducted in the academic years of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 at The Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), which is one of the two largest university colleges in Tanzania exclusively offering a teacher education degree. Following a three year Bachelor programme graduates qualify to teach in secondary schools or teacher education colleges. Research clearance (including ethics procedures) was obtained from the University of Dar es Salaam and the Dar es Salaam University College of Education prior to commencing data collection. The first author made arrangements with four lecturers working in the programme to use approximately 50 minutes of class time for questionnaire administration. After explaining the study objectives and confidentiality issues, and assuring the student-teachers that their participation would not influence their grades or studies, the researcher invited student-teachers to participate in the study. Participants included 3246 student-teachers (33% females, 67% males) from a total of 4952 enrolled student-teachers from all years of study. Participants included student-teachers in the beginning of their first, second, and third year of study (September 2015), as well as at the end of their third year (May 2014 two months before graduation). Participants were recruited from all teacher education courses in the university. Undergraduate teacher education has two main pathways: 1) an education major, including Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. - Science or Arts); and 2) non-education major, including Bachelor of Arts with Education (B.A.Ed.) and Bachelor of Science with Education (B.Sc. Ed.). Both education majors and non-education majors are secondary teaching pathways. Education majors (usually the minority of students) also qualify for teaching in teacher education colleges at certificate and diploma level. Participant information is provided in Table 2.1.
2.3.2 Instruments
Data were collected using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. The scales that formed this questionnaire were constructed by the authors based on the literature, except for the Teacher Self-efficacy Scale (TSES; we explain this below). We piloted the questionnaire to a different group of undergraduate student-teachers (n = 120). The pilot results helped us to improve the questionnaire by deleting some items which did not work well in different scales. Student-teachers’ commitment to teaching was measured by asking about their feelings of commitment to the teaching profession, subject and student learning, and their intention to enter the profession.
Commitment to teaching
We drew on commitment scales based on the previous literature. However, these were not entirely suitable for our study as some were basically organizational commitment scales measuring commitment to the school organization, or about other professions such as nursing (e.g., Hackett, Lapierre & Hausdorf, 2001; Meyer, Allen & Smith, 1993). Commitment scales from the field of education (e.g., Ware & Kitsantas, 2007; Watt
& Richardson, 2008) were one-dimensional, focusing on professional commitment. Although the scales from these studies did not entirely meet our study requirements – i.e., a scale that would measure student- teachers’ commitment to teaching in several objects - they formed a basis for constructing our scales. We constructed a ‘Commitment-to-Teaching Scale’ (CTS) through detailed scrutiny of commitment variables, picking and modifying some items that captured our study interest. The CTS consisted of 35 items referring to various aspects of commitment to teaching. All items were answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1= not at all and 5= very much.
The 35 commitment items were subjected to an exploratory principal component factor analysis using varimax rotation in order to determine the underlying factors. The final factor analysis consisted of two components, which explained 25% and 24% of the variance in commitment scores, respectively. The first component we labelled Commitment to the teaching profession (CP, 15 items) with items showing student-teachers’ inclination to liking of the teaching profession in general. Example items are ‘Teaching is an ideal profession for me’ and
‘I feel guilty if I leave the teaching profession’. The second component we labelled Commitment to student learning (CL, 14 items) with items showing student-teachers’ interest in the students and the teaching act.
Example items are ‘I believe I have the responsibility to do the best for every student’ and ‘I have the responsibility to make my major teaching subject interesting to my students’. Factor loadings of items are shown in Table 2.2. Next, we performed reliability analyses of the two identified factors (CP and CL). In Table 2.3, we present the reliability along with other descriptive statistics, showing satisfying reliabilities for both CP and CL scales.
Intention to enter the teaching profession
The scale Intentions to enter the teaching profession included three items, based on Rots et al. (2007, 2010): 1) ‘I am certain I will take up teaching after my graduation’, 2) ‘I intend to teach for a reasonable period of time after my training’, and 3) ‘I am sure I will take up teaching as soon as I graduate’. These items were answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1= not at all and 5= very much, and formed a reliable scale (see Table 2.3). Exploratory principal component factor analysis suggested only one factor.
Personal characteristics
We adapted the ‘Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale’ (TSES, short form with 12 items) developed by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001), which includes instructional strategies, classroom management and student engagement sub-scales. We slightly modified the Self-efficacy items, which were originally in question form, to statement form so as to be consistent with the rest of the questionnaire. Items for this scale included,
“I think I can use a variety of assessment strategies” and “I think I can motivate students who show low interest in schoolwork”. All items were answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1= Not at all and 5=
Very much. The scale reached a high reliability score (see Table 2.3).
Factor analysis extracted only one factor – just as observed by the TSES developers in the case of student-teachers. Other personal characteristics such as age and gender were examined as participant information in the questionnaire as provided in Table 2.1.
Environmental determinants
We distinguished between two types of environment determinants. First, we measured the environmental determinants that refer to the personal environment of the participants, such as Marital status, Year of study, Subject specialization (major Vs non-major in education, and Science Vs Arts subjects) and Financial responsibilities for others (see Table 2.1).
Second, we collected data on the perceived school and social environment based on scholarly work on motivation for choosing teaching as a career (e.g., Richardson & Watt, 2006; Rots et al., 2010; Watt & Richardson, 2007). This scale consisted of 15 items which were answered using a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1= not at all and 5= very much. We performed exploratory principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation in order to determine the underlying factors. We determined three scales: 1) Significant others (SO; 4 items explaining 21.8% of the variance in scores) showing perceived support of parents and friends with items such as, “I feel that my family is happy with my decision to become a teacher”, and “I feel that my close friends are happy with my decision to become a teacher”, 2) School conditions (SC; 4 items explaining 19.3%
of the variance in scores) showing perceived school conditions, with items such as, “I think that schools have enough teaching facilities” and
“I am willing to teach in rural schools”, and 3)Opportunity (OP; 3 items) showing a choice for teaching as an opportunity to fulfil other goals than
becoming a teacher with items such as, “My teacher education degree will help me to get other jobs” and “With teaching qualifications I can earn extra money through tuition” . Reliability analysis of the OP sub-scale did not support the existence of this factor as it showed a low alpha score.
The items forming the OP sub-scale were all negatively formulated; this might have been the reason for the reliability obtained. We decided not to use the sub-scale for further analysis. Reliability scores and descriptive statistics are presented in Table 2.3. Table 2.4 show items factor loadings.
Learning experiences
To capture student-teachers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards the teaching profession, teachers, and teaching subjects and student-teachers’
satisfaction with their teacher education programme we constructed a
‘Teaching Attitude Scale’ based on Kyriacou and Kunc (2007) and Watt and Richardson (2007; 2008). All 18 items were answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1= not at all and 5= very much. An exploratory
principal component factor analysis using the varimax rotation method was conducted distinguishing two sub-scales: 1) Attitude towards the teaching profession (ATP; 7 items) showing the liking of the teaching profession, and 2) Attitude towards the teaching subject (ATS; 4 items) showing the liking of the subject. These two scales explained 31% and 21.3%, respectively. Items in the ATP sub-scale included “I believe teaching is a secure job” and “I believe teaching is a high-status occupation”. Items for the ATS sub-scale included “I believe that most students like my major teaching subject” and “I think that it is important my major teaching subject is taught in secondary schools”. Table 2.3 indicates the Cronbach’s alpha value for the reliability test, Table 2.5 indicates the items factor loadings based on principal component analysis.
With regard to student-teachers’ satisfaction with the teacher education programme we constructed a scale grounding on the work of Rots et al. (2007) and comprised nine items. Factor analysis and reliability analysis showed that they made a reliable scale, forming only one factor component (reliability and descriptive statistics are shown in Table 2.3). Items included, “I am happy with the way I am being prepared to become a teacher” and “I am satisfied with my teacher education training programme”. All items were answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1= not at all and 5= very much.
2.3.3 Analysis
We decided to split the three clusters of independent variables into seven blocks: Personal characteristics cluster was split into 1) stable characteristics (age and gender) and 2) self-efficacy; Environmental determinants clusters was split into 3) social environment (Significant others), 4) school environment (School conditions) and 5) personal environment (Marital status, Financial responsibility, Degree specialization and Year of study); Learning experiences cluster was split into 6) formal learning (Programme satisfaction) and 7) attitudes based on informal learning experiences (Attitudes towards the profession and Attitudes toward teaching subject). In order to investigate relationships between personal characteristics, environmental determinants and learning experiences, on the on hand, and student-teachers’ commitment to teaching and intention to enter the profession, on the other hand, we performed regression analyses with forced entry method for each block of independent variables and each dependent variable in two steps. In the first step, for each of the three dependent variables, we successively entered seven blocks with independent variables to decide the strength of all predictors. In the second, we repeated these regression analyses, but now with the block of the strongest variables first. The outcomes of both steps are presented in the results section.
2.4 Results
2.4.1 Student-teachers’ Commitment to the Teaching Profession
The results are summarized in Table 2.6. The variables from the Learning experience cluster appeared to have the strongest relationship with student teachers’ Commitment to the teaching profession. The more
positive attitudes towards the profession (B= 0.237, s.e.=0.018) and programme satisfaction (B= 0.227, s.e.= 0.019) the more committed to the profession. An additional strong relationship was found between Significant others and Commitment to the teaching profession (B=
0.240, s.e.= 0.014) with the stronger support from Significant others, the more commitment to the profession. The positive relationship of student-teachers’ Self-efficacy and perceived School conditions appeared to be less strong, though significant. Of the other factors, Degree specialization (0= non-education major and 1= education major), Year 4 and Financial responsibilities showed significant positive relationships with Commitment to the teaching profession as well. The first means that student-teachers attending an education major reported to be more committed than the other student-teachers. The latter two relationships are weak with student-teachers at the end of the final year more committed to the teaching profession compared to the other student-teachers and the more financial responsibilities student teacher had, the more committed they were to the teaching profession
2.4.2 Student-teachers’ Commitment to Student Learning
The results of the final regression analysis are summarized in Table 2.6.
As in the results of the previous analysis, the variables from the Learning experience cluster appear to have a strong relationship with student teachers’ Commitment to student learning, with the more positive student teachers were about teaching the subject (B= 0.134, s.e.= 0.012) and the more satisfied they were about the programme (B= 0.123, s.e.= 0.014), the more committed to student learning they reported to be. Compared to the previous analysis with Commitment to the teaching profession, student-teachers’ Self-efficacy and Significant others swapped position in the rank order of explaining differences in commitment: Self-efficacy showed a stronger positive relationship and Significant others a less strong positive relationship with Commitment to student learning. Again the relationship of perceived School conditions with Commitment to student learning appeared to be relatively less strong, though significant. Of the other factors, five variables were found to be related to Commitment to student learning. First, Year 1 showed a significant relationship which means that students at the beginning of their teacher education programme were more committed to student learning compared to the other student- teachers. Secondly, Degree specialization, Marital status (with 1=yes),
Financial responsibilities and Age showed weak, but significant positive relationships with Commitment to student learning. This means that student-teachers attending an educational major, students who were not married, students with financial responsibilities and older students were relatively more committed to student learning.
2.4.3 Student-teachers’ Intentions to enter the Teaching Profession The results are summarized in right column of Table 3. As in the previous analyses, the variables from the Learning experience cluster again appears to have a strong relationship with student teachers’ Intentions to enter the teaching profession, with attitude scales (B= 0.113, s.e.= 0.023 for ATP and B= 0.107, s.e.= 0.021 for ATS) and Programme satisfaction (B= 0.221, s.e.= 0.024) showing similar strong positive relations with Intention to enter the teaching profession. As in the previous analyses, student-teachers’ Self-efficacy also showed a strong relationship with Intentions to enter the teaching profession. The relationship of Significant others was comparable with the second regression analyses and perceived School condition was not significantly related to Intentions to enter the teaching profession. Of the other factors, only Degree specialization showed a weak though significant effect, which means that student- teachers attending an educational major showed relatively stronger intentions to enter the teacher profession compared to other student- teachers.
2.5 Discussion and Conclusion
The current study aimed at investigating which factors explain differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. The results show a number of factors that are related to student-teachers’ commitment, including Commitment to the teaching profession, Commitment to student learning, and Intention to enter the teaching profession.
Learning experiences appeared to be the most influential variable in our study. We found a strong relationship between all Learning experience variables (i.e. Programme satisfaction, Attitudes towards the teaching profession, and Attitudes towards the teaching subject) and student- teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession, their Commitment to students’ learning, and their Intentions to enter the teaching profession.
In line with other studies (i.e., Durksen & Klassen, 2012; Rots &
Aelterman,2009; Rots et al., 2007; 2010; 2012; 2014), our study confirms the importance of teacher education and student-teachers’ satisfaction with their teacher education programme in influencing their commitment to teaching. Our study also confirms previous research (Choi & Tang, 2009; Thomson, Turner & Nietfeld, 2012) showing a positive relationship between student-teachers’ attitude towards the profession and their commitment to teaching. Notably, we found a positive relationship
between student-teachers’ Attitude towards their teaching subject and their Commitment to student learning and Intention to enter the profession.
Probably it appears that student-teachers feel the need to pass the passion they have towards their subjects through students learning. However, our study only focused on student-teachers preparing for secondary schools and teachers’ colleges, so the outcome may have been different if we had examined primary school student-teachers, since they tend not to have subject allegiances in the way that secondary teachers do. Curiously, we did not find a relationship between student-teachers’ Attitudes to the subject and Commitment to the teaching profession. This finding supports the fact that teachers may have different commitment objects;
a teacher who is committed to their subject and students’ learning may not necessarily be committed to the teaching profession (Danneta, 2002).
As might be expected, Self-efficacy was the strongest personal factor in the three regression models. Our findings emphasize the important relationship between student-teachers’ self-efficacy and their commitment to teaching as shown in other studies. Student-teachers with a highly perceived ability to teach are more likely to be highly engaged in student learning (Chan, Lau, Nie, Li & Hogan, 2008; Chesnut &
Cullen, 2014), to be committed to the teaching profession (Durksen &
Klassen, 2012; Klassen & Chiu, 2011; Klassen et al., 2013), and to show strong intention to enter the teaching profession (Rots et al., 2007). In all three regression models of the current study, Age and Gender showed weak or insignificant relationship with student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. This supports the relative unimportance of these factors (Durksen & Klassen, 2012; Rots et al., 2010; 2014; Watt et al. 2007), but also contradicts findings from other studies that found age differences in commitment among student-teachers (e.g. Guarino, 2006; Johnson &
Kardos, 2005; Watt et al., 2007). It is possible that our finding might have been affected by the type of participants, since seventy percent of our participants were below 25 years of age.
Another major finding is a strong relation of perceived support from Significant others with commitment in all three models. This means that student-teachers with higher perceived support from their family and friends for deciding to become a teacher, the greater their commitment to teaching and intention to enter the teaching profession.
In this respect, our findings support the studies of Schutz et al. (2001) and Thomson et al. (2012). However, our findings differ from those of
Watt and Richardson (2007) in Australia, who found that the presence of Significant others was not an important predictor for commitment to teaching. This result may be explained the fact that Watt and Richardson examined commitment indirectly through student-teachers’ motivating factors for choosing teaching as their career. Our study directly examined the influence of perceived support from Significant others in student- teachers’ commitment to teaching. Moreover, this may be explained by some cultural differences. Hofstede (2001) and Tamis‐LeMonda, Way, Hughes, Yoshikawa, Kalman and Niwa (2008) indicate that in countries with individualistic cultures parents tend to encourage their children to develop into independent, autonomous individuals who make their own choices. In contrast, countries with collectivistic cultures parents tend to promote relatedness and interdependence in their children in which among other things respect and obedience to authority is important.
Based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Australia and Tanzania scores on individualism are 90 and 25 respectively.
Moreover, we found a strong positive relationship between student- teachers’ perceptions of School conditions with their Commitment to the teaching profession and student learning. This confirms the importance of facilitative school environment for student-teachers’ commitment to teaching found in a study of Shwu-yong and Waxman (2009). In contrast, student-teachers’ perceived School condition was not a significant predictor of their Intentions to enter the teaching profession. Although we found a weak relation of student-teachers’ Degree specialization with their commitment to the teaching and intentions to enter the teaching profession, it is important to note that being an educational major student- teacher has a stronger relation with commitment than being a non- educational major student-teacher. A possible reason for this might be that educational majors to some extent have already made their decision to become teachers, because courses in this program does not give many possibilities for one to find a job out of the education field. In contrast, non-educational majors have possibilities to find other jobs than teaching as they are specialist in their subject areas.
2.5.1 Implications
Although there is a lack of consensus on how to improve programs since there is no one universal approach to preparing teachers (Korthagen,
Loughran, & Russell, 2006), understanding certain variables that have impacts on student-teachers commitment to teaching give light to practitioners in teacher education on what to consider to enhance commitment to teaching among student-teachers. As low levels of commitment to teaching is a problem facing many countries (Mulkeen, et al., 2007; OECD, 2014) teacher educators from different context may find the findings and implications of this study helpful. From the current study, two important implications emerge for teacher education programmes.
First, this study emphasizes the importance of Learning experiences variables (student-teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching profession and school subject and satisfaction with the teacher education programme) to their commitment to teaching. Teacher educators need to understand and be aware of student-teachers’ underlying perceptions and beliefs about subjects and the teaching profession. From this, teacher educators can design interventions that may change student-teachers’ negative attitudes and/or enhance positive attitudes towards the profession and their teaching subjects. Furthermore, teacher educators can address student- teacher attitudes by presenting positive role models, so that student- teachers can be prompted to think about the teaching profession more positively. At the same time, much emphasis should be on developing student-teachers’ subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Good subject matter knowledge and PCK is important in enhancing student-teachers’ attitude towards their subject (Johnston
& Ahtee, 2005). Our study also emphasizes the importance of student- teachers’ feelings of satisfaction with their teacher education programme.
Teacher education institutes, therefore, need to develop programmes that optimize interest and satisfaction among student-teachers, for example through teacher educators support and mentorship for student-teachers as emphasized in previous studies (Durksen & Klassen, 2012; Rots et al 2012) as well as ensuring there are qualified and committed teacher educators who can be role models of the profession. It is also important that teacher education programmes are regularly evaluated to investigate these aspects.
Second, in line with previous research, these findings emphasize the possible role of teacher self-efficacy in enhancing student-teachers’
commitment to teaching and intention to enter the teaching profession.
Hence, teacher educators must recognize the importance of, and do their best to foster teaching self-efficacy, in student-teachers. For example,
teacher educators could help student-teachers in mastering their teaching through guidance and mentorship during teaching practicum - as mastery experiences appear to make the strongest contribution to self-efficacy judgments among teachers (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007).
2.5.2 Concluding Remarks
Interpretation of these results should be treated cautiously as they rely solely on one context and might thus limit generalizability. However, our findings confirm those from other studies. The problem of low levels of commitment to teaching in schools is a real problem, internationally and in the context of this study, Tanzania. Teacher education programmes may exert little influence on commitment in terms of systemic and contextual factors; however, there are areas where teacher education can make a difference. Already 30 years ago, Chapman (1984) posits that the roots of teacher attrition reach back to teachers’ initial career commitment. Thus, fostering student-teachers’ commitment to teaching through the careful design of initial teacher education could result in an increased long term commitment to teaching.
CHAPTER 3 Gender and Gender Role Differences in Student-teachers’
Commitment to Teaching
22 This Chapter has been published in an adapted form as:
Moses, I., Admiraal, W., & Berry, A. K. (2016). Gender and gender role differences in student-teachers’ commitment to teaching.
Social Psychology of Education, 19(3), 475-492. doi 10.1007/
s11218-016-9340-3
Abstract
Low commitment to teaching amongst teachers is a problem facing the teaching profession in many countries. Gender might be an important factor in explaining what kinds of prospective teachers are attracted to teaching. This empirical study examined the relationship between student–teachers’ gender, gender roles and commitment to teaching within the context of a large, university-based teacher education program in Tanzania. A self-report questionnaire was administered, comprising commitment to teaching items, gender as a demographic variable and items from Bem sex role inventory (BSRI). Cluster analysis on the masculine and feminine scale of the BSRI indicated three clusters: (1) highly androgynous students with high scores on both masculine and feminine scales, (2) medium androgynous students with relatively high scores on both masculine and feminine scales, and (3) low androgynous students with low scores in relation to the other two groups on both masculine and feminine scales of the BSRI. More female than male student–teachers reported to be highly androgynous. Covariance analysis showed that gender roles were significantly related to commitment to teaching and to intention to enter the teaching profession. Highly androgynous student–
teachers reported significantly more commitment to teaching and higher intentions to enter the teaching profession compared to medium and low androgynous student–teachers. No significant relationships were found between gender, on the one hand, and commitment to teaching and the intention to enter the teaching profession, on the other hand. Findings are discussed in the context of teacher and teacher education in Tanzania.
