Entrance Characteristics, Motivations, University and Field Choices of Teacher Candidates

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine some demographic characteristics of first-year teacher candidates, the time and reasons for choosing the university and the department they will study, their motivation levels and motivation sources for being a teacher. Convergent parallel mixed research design was used in the research. 642 first-year teacher candidates participated in the quantitative dimension of the study and 602 first-year teacher candidates participated in the qualitative dimension. In the study, in order to specify some characteristics of the teacher candidates a demographic questionnaire was used, while an open-ended questionnaire was utilized to determine the time of and reasons for deciding on a university and a field, and to investigate their motivation levels and motivational factors. The results of the quantitative data analysis revealed that the teaching profession was mostly preferred by females in the 18-19 age range who spent most of their lives in districts. In addition, the teacher candidates came from families with low and middle socio-economic and educational levels. The majority of the teacher candidates were Anatolian high school graduates, put teaching in their top five in the university preference form and got average scores from the university exam. Various factors were effective in the university and field choices of the teacher candidates. While the university entrance exam score was the most influential factor for the selection of university, the preservice teachers' interest in the field they will study is the most influential factor for the selection of the department. Also, according to the research findings, the teacher candidates had a high level of motivation to be a teacher and their intrinsic motivation was more influential in their motivation level. The discussion of the findings is presented in the light of the literature.