Altay Eren

‘Not only satisfied and responsible, but also hopeful’: prospective teachers’ career choice satisfaction, hope, and personal responsibility

The present study aimed to examine the relationships between prospective teachers’ career choice satisfaction, hope, and sense of personal responsibility, with the intention of exploring the mediating role of hope in the relationship between career choice satisfaction and sense of personal responsibility. A total of 563 prospective teachers voluntarily participated in the study. Results showed that the prospective teachers’ career choice satisfaction, hope, and sense of personal responsibility for student motivation, achievement, relationships with students, and teaching were positively and significantly related to each other. Results also showed that the mediating roles of hope in the relationships between career choice satisfaction and four aspects of personal responsibility were reasonably important. Overall, results of the present study suggest that the prospective teachers’ sense of personal responsibility should be considered together with their career choice satisfaction and hope during teacher education.

Prospective Teachers' Perceptions of Instrumentality, Boredom Coping Strategies, and Four Aspects of Engagement.

This study examined the mediating roles of prospective teachers’ boredom coping strategies (i.e. cognitive-approach, behavioral-approach, cognitive-avoidance, and behavioral-avoidance strategies) in the relationships between their perceptions of instrumentality and four aspects of engagement (i.e. agentic engagement, behavioral, engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement). A total of 521 prospective teachers participated voluntarily in the study. In addition to the latent factor and observed factor correlation analyses, a series of structural equation modeling analyses were conducted in order to examine the mediating roles of boredom coping strategies. The results demonstrated that perceived instrumentality, boredom coping strategies with the exception of cognitive-avoidance orientation, and four aspects of engagement were significantly related to each other. The results also showed that the relationships between perceived instrumentality and agentic engagement, behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement were slightly, but significantly mediated by cognitive-approach orientation. Implications for teacher education and directions for future studies were also discussed in the present study.

A qualitative investigation of prospective teachers’ hopes, their sources, and motivational forces

This grounded theory study examined prospective teachers’ (PTs) dispositional hopes, teaching-specific hopes, their sources, and motivational force of teaching-specific hopes. A total of 41 PTs enrolled on different teacher education programmes voluntarily participated in the semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that PTs’ dispositional hopes revolved around an active/passive axis, and originated from internal, external, and combined sources. Teaching-specific hopes were explained through five categories: relationships with others, teaching, student achievement, student motivation, and student development. Regardless of axis or source, teaching-specific hopes had a substantial motivational force on PTs’ preparation toward their future careers. The current study urges teacher educators and policy-makers to consider PTs’ teaching-specific hopes together with their motivational roles in preparing them for their future careers.

Investigating Prospective Teachers' Teaching-Specific Hopes as Predictors of Their Sense of Personal Responsibility.

ABSTRACT This study examined whether prospective teachers’ teaching-specific hopes significantly predicted their sense of personal responsibility. A total of 503 prospective teachers voluntarily participated in the study. Correlation and structural equation modelling analyses were conducted to examine the links between prospective teachers’ teaching-specific hopes and sense of personal responsibility. Results showed that the relationships between prospective teachers’ teaching-specific hopes and sense of personal responsibility were significant. Furthermore, the relationship between responsibility for teaching and hope for teaching was significantly more discernible than the relationships between responsibility for teaching and hopes for student achievement, student motivation, and relationships with students. Results also showed that, regardless of the effects of career choice satisfaction, prospective teachers’ teaching-specific hopes for student motivation, relationships with students, and teaching significantly and selectively predicted the diverse aspects of their sense of personal responsibility. Implications for teacher education and directions for further studies were also discussed in the study.