Introduction and aim of the study Motivation to teach is often mentioned as one of the key-concepts in teacher education research (e.g. Malmberg, 2008), especially intrinsic motivation, which is certainly considered as the most favorable motivation for teaching profession. The concept of motivation to teach can be drawn from Ryan and Deci’s (2000) conceptualization of different types of motivation, as described by Malmberg et al. (2004). Motivation to teach can be influenced by various factors, some of which include teacher’s personal characteristics, while others include characteristics of the teaching context. From the aspect of personal characteristics, it has been well known that each student enrolling teacher education program has a complex set of beliefs and conceptions regarding their future profession. This also refers to conceptions of teaching, which can predominantly be student- or teacher-oriented (Kember, 1997). Our presumption is that student-oriented conception of teaching can be one of the factors fostering intrinsic motivation to teach. We could also expect that students’ previous academic success can be related to their motivation to teach, expecting more successful students to be more motivated for teacher-studies. This research is conducted as a part of the larger project on professional development of student teachers during their pre-service education. The focus of the project is on the interplay of various motivational and personality factors which can influence professional development during initial teacher education (Korthagen, 2004). The aim of this research was to focus on the relationship between first-year teacher students’ conception of teaching as a student-oriented process, high-school grades and different types of motivation for the teaching profession.

The sample consisted of 125 first-year students enrolled at Teachers’ Faculty, University of Zagreb. A series of questionnaires were adapted and developed measuring various aspects of students’ approaches to learning and teaching. The instrument was administered during regular classes at the end of first year of studies, assessing (among other variables relevant for the project) students’ motivation to teach and students’ conception of teaching as a student-oriented process. Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (Ryan & Connell, 1989) was adapted to assess teaching motivation. Student-oriented conception of teaching was assessed by adapted version of Approaches to Teaching Inventory (Prosser & Trigwell, 2001). Rating scale was from 1 to 5 (1-completely disagree, 5-completely agree). Data on students’ grades at the end of their secondary education was also collected. Two-way ANOVA was conducted in order to examine whether intrinsic, identified and extrinsic motivation to teach are influenced by students’ grades and student-oriented conceptions of teaching.

Results and conclusion Factor analysis of the Motivation to teach scale indicated three factors: intrinsic, identified and extrinsic motivation. Results indicate that students whose conception of teaching is more student-oriented also express higher level of intrinsic motivation to teach regardless of their high-school grades (F(1,94)=4,70; p=.033). Significant interaction between high-school grades and student-oriented conception of teaching (F(1,94)=6,46; p=.013) indicated that students with lower grades and less student-oriented conceptions of teaching express lower level of intrinsic motivation to teach. With regard to identified and extrinsic motivation to teach, results indicated that there was neither significant effect of student-oriented conception of teaching nor significant effect of high-school grades. Results obtained in this study indicate the importance of student-oriented conception of teaching as a good basis for intrinsic motivation to teach. Consequently, we could recommend raising student conscientiousness about implicit role of their conceptions of teaching in their future profession and classroom activities.