Investigating Science Teachers’ Motivations to Continue Teaching Through a National Teacher Shortage
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Authors
Karagozian, Monica
Issue Date
2024-04-04
Type
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Abstract
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2022), 44% of public schools report full- or part-time vacancies, and the Department of Education lists science as one of the top five high need areas. For years, teacher turnover has been a heavily researched topic. However, little is known about teacher persistence, especially in the sciences. Therefore, through this qualitative research study, we asked the following: What motivations allow science teachers to continue their career through a national teacher shortage? To answer this question, we
interviewed four high school science teachers, and we report findings from two of those interviews. During these interviews teachers were asked pre-determined questions involving their motivations for teaching. These questions fell into four main categories; motivations to pursue teaching originally, their teacher preparation programs, support from their district, and personal career goals. To analyze our data we coded transcriptions of interviews using both a priori and emergent codes and wrote descriptive summaries of the interviews. We found the teachers we interviewed to be motivated to continue teaching because of the support they receive from their administration and fellow teachers, the ability to grow their knowledge in their respective subjects, the opportunity to make an impact and build relationships with their students, and to persist in their careers due to family-related reasons. These findings support the need for further research to identify implications for teacher educators and school administrators as we collectively work to ensure all students have access to high-quality science instruction.