An investigation of pre-service teachers' entry level motivations and their intentions to stay in the teaching profession in Pakistan

The purpose of this research was to explore motivational factors contributing to pre-service teachers' choice of teaching as a career and their intentions to stay or not to stay in the teaching profession in Pakistan. The exploration included how six motivating factors (socio-cultural utility value, intrinsic value, personal utility value, social dissuasion, prior teaching and learning experiences, and social influence of parents, family, and friends) and their intention to stay or not to stay in the teaching profession varied among provinces and administrative units and male and female pre-service teachers in urban and rural settings. The relationships between demographic variables (gender, age, socioeconomic status, parental level of education, number of siblings, self-reported academic achievement score in intermediate exam, and self-reported university entrance test scores) and the motivating factors that contributed to pre-service teachers' choice of teaching as a career, and their intention to stay or not to stay in the teaching profession were examined. Using a modified version of the Factor Influencing Teaching Choice scale, the entry-level motivations and intentions to stay or not to stay in the teaching profession of 639 first-year pre-service teachers enrolled in a 4-year B.Ed. (Hons) Elementary program in 21 public sector universities in Pakistan were explored.;Socio-cultural utility value was the highest rated motivating factor, followed by prior teaching learning experiences; personal utility value; intrinsic value; and social influence of parents, family, and friends; and social dissuasion was the lowest rated factor influencing pre-service teachers' to choose teaching as a career in Pakistan. There was a significant difference among the provinces and administrative units, and male and female pre-service teachers with regard to motivations and intentions to stay or not to stay in the teaching profession. However, there was no significant difference between urban and rural respondents regarding motivating factors and intentions to stay or not to stay in the teaching profession. Several significant correlations were found between motivating factors and intentions to stay or not to stay in the teaching profession. A regression analysis revealed that intrinsic value was the strongest predictor of pre-service teachers' intentions to stay in the teaching profession, whereas social dissuasion was the strongest predictor of intentions not to stay in the teaching profession.;The findings from this research contributed to the literature about prospective teachers' entry-level motivation in a Pakistani context. The findings also identified the myths and realities that are predominant in Pakistani society about the choice of teaching as a career. Consequently, these study findings informed policymakers and faculty in teacher education programs to improve existing recruitment and admission processes and procedures and align teacher education curriculum with the motivations to ensure pre-service teachers' stay in the teaching profession.