On motives for becoming a teacher in the post-Soviet context: Evidence from Kazakhstan

Author(s):

Natallia Yakavets(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 05 C, Becoming a Teacher

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-24

13:30-15:00

Room:

NM-C214

Chair:

Contribution

There is growing evidence in many countries that ‘teaching would seem to be less attractive as a career than it was 30 years ago when larger numbers of what is now often referred to as the “baby boomer” generations were drawn into teaching’ (Watt and Richardson 2008, 409). The career choice motivation of student-teachers is considered as a significant factor. In Central Asia, and other post-Soviet republics, teaching is a last resort for many university candidates as students gain admissions into the preservice teacher programs with relative ease, and then upon completion of their studies the majority select alternative occupation (Silova 2009).

Kazakhstan is facing a shortage of teachers. This problem was already acknowledged by the government of Kazakhstan in the State Programme for Educational Development (SPED) for 2011-2020 (MoES 2010). Furthermore, the SPED acknowledges ‘poor quality of teacher training’; and ‘low motivation of teacher’s labour’ (MoES 2010, 15). But how is this reputation going to improve in the eyes of the society and teachers themselves? While, there are some significant changes in daily practices of teachers across the country, pre-service teacher education is the area which has been least touched so far by the changes in Kazakhstan, but is a top priority for the next stage of reform.

There has been a steady flow of studies and reports of teacher motivations from many countries. Research on pre-service teachers’ motivations on choosing teaching should, as König and Rothland (2012) argue, not only investigate the question why people enrol in pre-service teacher education, but also take into consideration the significance of motivations for pre-service teachers’ professional development such as their learning gains during pre-service teacher education, their teaching performance during in-school opportunities to learn and possible effects on the students they will teach in the future (p.290). The evidence from various studies suggests that different socio-cultural contexts potentially frame and shape motivations for career choice, satisfaction and persistence (Watt and Richardson 2008:409). In addition, changes in political regimes and ideology along with shifts in public opinions affect societal views about the popularity and reputation of teaching profession. This has relevance to the post-Soviet context of Kazakhstan.

The most common characterisation of motives mentioned in studies across different countries are: (i) intrinsic motives – such as focusing on teaching as an interesting and important profession; personal satisfaction; (ii) extrinsic motives – that is focusing on the benefits of teaching or other external rewards; job guarantee; money; holidays; social security, appointment, and ease; and (iii) altruistic motives, which concerns viewing teaching as a socially worthwhile profession; being in the service of people, society, and country (Fokkens-Bruinsma and Canrinus 2014; OECD, 2011; Bastick 2000).

There are differences in motives for becoming a teacher between teachers, as well as between countries. Thus, this is important to examine the motivation for becoming a teacher in a post-Soviet context – in Kazakhstan. Two research questions are addressed:

1. What motives, and broader factors, influence the decisions of students in Kazakhstan to become teachers?

2. How do student-teachers view the ways in which they are prepared for teaching?

There is a strong argument the literature that teacher motivation is important for educational processes and outcomes. For example, intrinsically motivated teachers could improve pupils’ intrinsic motivation (Atkinson 2000; Lam et al., 2009); and teacher motivation has also been related to job satisfaction (Fokkens-Bruinsma and Canrinus 2011). This paper provides an empirically grounded illustration of student teachers motivations in the post-Soviet context.

Method

A mixed method approach was adopted, using a constructivists’ theoretical perspective. Survey questionnaire, semi-structure interviews and focus group with students were employed. Data collection was in three universities in Kazakhstan, all of which were regarded as leading national institutes in initial teacher preparation. The choice of the sample is significant in terms of the context and the images that the sample group has a good teacher. We also visited two Pedagogical Colleges in two different locations. Seven focus groups were conducted which comprised 4-6 student teachers in the 4th year (final) of teacher training programme. Students were selected by an administrator of the institution based on availability of students. The research team first developed a set of interview guides to tailor to different participants (i.e. teacher educators and student teachers). Prior to interviews participants were informed about the purpose, time, demands, confidentiality, and voluntary nature of their involvement. The interviews and focus groups were conducted by two or three researchers in participant’s preferred language (mainly in Kazakh and some in Russian). Interviews and focus groups were digitally recorded. From 40 audio files 20 were selected and then transcribed and translated into English. Thematic analysis was used in categorising the data collected through interviews and focus groups. The survey was developed from the literature and sample questions in validated survey instruments (e.g. TALIS 2013). The survey instrument consisted of 23 questions used a combination of Likert scales, multiple choice, and open-ended responses to explore pre-service student teachers’ perceptions, using statements, themes and categories to generate aspects of instrument. The survey was divided into key sections: demographics: demographics (age, gender, language, scores in the Unified National Test); views on overall pre-service programme; pedagogical practice; theoretical knowledge; views on overall preparedness. The survey was distributed online through Qualtrics software. It was challenging to recruit online participants and a few reminders were sent generated through Qualtrics mailing list. However, it was not possible to gain a sample that would give strong grounds for assuming that the responses are representative of the population of student-teachers in Kazakhstan. The original sample was N=53 students from three Pedagogical Universities and two Pedagogical Colleges in two regions of Kazakhstan. The vast majority of participants were female (N=49, 92.4%).

Expected Outcomes

Decision making is not that simple, but is a complex process with many influences and motivations. Thus, not all student teachers may be consciously aware of exactly what brought them into teaching profession other than some circumstances. Using a focus group discussion was particularly useful to shed some light through comparing and contrasting student teachers experience. Among intrinsic motives were identified: desire to ‘be a teacher’ and ‘dream to work with children’. While it was acknowledged that teaching is not an easy, but ‘seeing shining eyes of children and giving knowledge to children’ was described as a reward by some participants. A higher education diploma, which is very prestigious in all post-Soviet countries, was one of extrinsic motives. Some participants were vocal that ‘nothing else available’, therefore they had to study pedagogical specialities. For male participants teaching was seen as a fast-track career path. The views ‘to serve the nation’ and ‘contribute to the country future’ were among altruistic motives expressed by student-teachers. Descriptive statistics show students perceptions about their overall training experience are positive. Nineteen items were used to assess student teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy. Student-teachers reported high level of confidence in their own skills in various aspects of teaching. Overall, the data reveal that in Kazakhstan career choice may be less based on individual interests and abilities of students that in the West. The role of family and the societal cultural influence in the career choice are very important. The system challenges such as the Unified National Testing, the status of teaching as a highly demanding career, and generally required hard work and bureaucracy are seen as barriers to motivations of student-teachers. This paper argues that motivations for entering teaching matter because if aspirations are not satisfied in the school context professional satisfaction and fulfilment will deteriorate.

References

Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychology, 28(2), 117-148. Bastick, T. (2000) Why teacher trainees choose the teaching profession: Comparing trainees in metropolitan and developing countries, International Review of Education, 46, 343-349. Canrinus, E. T., & Fokkens-Bruinsma, M. (2014). Changes in student teachers’ motives and the meaning of teacher education programme quality. European Journal of Teacher Education, 37, 262-278. Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001) From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 1013-1055. Fokkens-Bruinsma, M. and Canrinus, E. T. (2015). Motivation and achievement in a university-based teacher training programme. Teaching Education, 26(3), 439-452. Fokkens-Bruinsma, M., and Canrinus, E. T. (2014). Motivation to become a teacher and engagement to the profession: evidence from different contexts. International Journal of Educational Research, 65, 65-74. König, J., & Rothland, M. (2012). Motivation for choosing teaching as a career: effects on general pedagogical knowledge during initial teacher education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. 40(3), pp. 289-315. Malmberg, L.E. (2006). Goal-orientation and teacher motivation among teacher applicants and student teachers. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, 22, 58-76. MoES (Ministry of Education and Science) (2010) ‘State Programme of Education Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020’. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan no.1118, 7 December 2010. Astana: MoES. Nilssen, V., Solheim R. (2015). ‘I see what I see from the theory I have read.’ Student teachers learning through theory in practice. Journal of Education for Teaching, 41(4), 404-416. OECD (2011). Building a high-quality teaching profession: lessons from around the world, Paris: OECD. Available at: https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/internationaled/background.pdf Sheridan, L.D. (2013). Changes in pre-service teacher perceptions’ of teacher qualities: development from egocentric to student centric. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(9), 55-75. Silova, I. (2009). The crisis of the post-Soviet teaching profession in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Research in Comparative and International Education, 4(4), 366-383. Thomson, M.M., Turner, J.E., & Nietfeld, J.L. (2012). A typological approach to investigate the teaching career decision. Motivations and beliefs about teaching of prospective teacher candidates. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 479-499. Watt, H.M.G., and Richardson, P.W. (2012) An introduction to teaching motivations in different countries: comparisons using the FIT-Choice scale, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40:3, 185-197. Yakavets, N. Bridges, D., Kurakbayev, K. & D. Shamatov. (forthcoming 2016). On constructs and the construction of teachers’ professional knowledge in Kazakhstan: a meeting of two worlds?

Author Information

Natallia Yakavets (presenting / submitting)

University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

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