A Three Factor Model To Resolve the Controversies of Why Trainees Are Motivated To Choose the Teaching Profession.

Why trainee teachers join the teaching profession in Jamaica was studied. Previous research has suggested that their reasons may be extrinsic (related to characteristics of the job), intrinsic (related to the individual's wishes), or altruistic (related to the social contribution). Some reasons that could be classified into these 3 categories were identified in 130 interviews with students from the Teaching College of the University of the West Indies. Approximately one third of the students at Jamaican colleges of education (n=1,444) were asked to rate their agreement with each of the 19 reasons on a scale from 0 to 9. Results indicate that extrinsic, intrinsic, and altruistic consideration were three distinct motivations teacher trainees had for choosing the profession. Extrinsic motivation was the most important, accounting for 24.2% of the variance, as compared to 14.6% for altruistic motivation, and 8.8% for intrinsic motivation. (Contains 3 tables and 16 references.) (SLD)