The Psychic Rewards of Teaching: Examining Global, National and Local Influences on Teacher Motivation

What are the main influences on the day-to-day motivation of classroom teachers? The particular focus in this research is the micro-events that teachers experience and which enhance or undermine their motivation. We conceptualise such events in terms of their proximity/distance. We suggest that experiences with a proximal origin (classroom and school) may be more relevant to motivation than events that a more remote origin (national and global events) partly because of the frequency with which they impinge on proximal events happen. To measure the importance of these micro-events for teachers' motivation, we propose that events are a function of their affective intensity and frequency of occurrence. We also propose that events that have a positive affective tone are more significant for motivation than events that have a negative emotional tone. Our initial efforts to map the construct of teachers' motivation are based on a multi-faceted approach. Rather on the basis of current research and thinking, as well as on judgements of what people usually consider motivation to be, we propose four indices that may gauge the underlying construct. These are: commitment to teaching (wanting to continue in the profession and in this particular school), teacher-efficacy (the most widely studied concept in this area), organizational citizenship (readiness to go beyond what is strictly required in contracts), and willingness to engage in new learning and professional development. (Contains 5 tables.)