Due to their relevance in understanding teacher professional life, teacher identity and motivation have become important topics in the literature (Canrinus, Helms-Lorenz, Beijaard, Buitink, & Hofman, 2011; Richardson, Karabenick, & Watt, 2014). These constructs brought a complementary perspective to the teacher thinking literature by considering the self in teachers (Beijaard, Miejer, & Verloop, 2004; Huberman, 1989/1993). The multiplicity of constructs proposed in this field together with the weak theoretical and empirical articulations among them gives, however, a messy impression (Beijard et al., 2004; Woolfolk Hoy, Davis, & Pape, 2006) limiting the understanding of their associations with pedagogical beliefs and with instructional practices. It is for example not clear whether self-efficacy beliefs make up a part of teacher identity such as conceptualized by Woolfolk Hoy et al. (2006) or whether these two constructs are interdependent.

In addition to the deeply researched construct of teacher self-efficacy (Woolfolk & Hoy, 1990), recent research trends found that teacher sense of responsibility (Lauermann & Karabenick, 2012), motivation to become a teacher (Watt & Richardson, 2007), and identity ‑ defined in this study as perceived expertise regarding pedagogy, didactic, and subject taught (Beijaard, Verloop, & Vermunt, 2000) – all provide relevant lenses to understand teachers’ professional life. In spite of the proliferation of constructs and research, some aspects, such as the subject or topic taught, are still largely overlooked in the literature on teacher identity and motivation; it is however probably a relevant factor for teachers having deep content knowledge in their field. For instance, the subject taught might constitute a motivation to teach and professional identity might be primarily based on expertise in the subject. Furthermore, the relevance of identity and motivation constructs for classroom teaching has repeatedly been assumed but seldom been analyzed.

Based on these considerations, the present study aimed at uncovering, in a sample of upper-secondary teachers (vocational and general secondary education teachers), the associations between several of the major constructs related to teacher identity (e.g., strength of identity as a teacher, teacher self-efficacy beliefs) and motivation to teach (e.g., intrinsic value and personal utility value of teaching). Additionally, the relationships between these constructs and general pedagogical beliefs (constructivist and traditional beliefs about teaching) will be explored to find how they matter for classroom teaching. The following research questions drove the analyses:

• Is there a hidden structure of teachers’ identity constructs, motivation, and general pedagogical beliefs? If yes, then:
  • Are there meaningful clusters of motivations to teach, identity-related variables, and general pedagogical beliefs?
  • What is the importance of the subject taught? i.e., are motivation and identity primarily defined by the subject taught associated with general pedagogical beliefs?
  • Are there specific motivations to become a teacher relating to specific pedagogical beliefs (e.g., intrinsic value of teaching relating to constructivist beliefs)?

 Answers to the research questions were based on a multidimensional scaling (ALSCAL; Takane, Young, & DeLeeuw, 1997) analysis, including all the constructs.

In brief, this study aimed at gaining insight into how teachers’ self-beliefs fit with their pedagogical beliefs, and the role the subject taught plays in this connection.

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