Finnish and German student teachers’ motivations for choosing teaching as a career. The first application of the FIT-Choice scale in Finland

• Published in: Teaching and teacher education Vol. 85; pp. 235 - 248
• Main Authors: Goller, Michael, Ursin, Jani, Vähäsantanen, Katja, Festner, Dagmar, Harteis, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2019
• Subjects: Beginning student teachers; Career; Comparative research; FIT-Choice; Motivation; Teaching; Beginning student teachers; FIT-Choice; Motivation; Career; Comparative research; Teaching
• ISSN: 0742-051X; 1879-2480
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2019.06.023

This study introduces and validates the Finnish version of the FIT-Choice scale and uses the scale to explore Finnish undergraduate students' motivations for choosing teaching as a career as well as their perceptions of teaching as a profession in comparison to German student teachers. The results replicated the FIT-Choice structure both in Finland and Germany. Sample comparisons revealed that motivations for teaching and perceptions of the teaching profession reflected both differences and similarities between Finland and Germany. The study offers novel information on student teachers’ motivational structure.
•Validation of the FIT-Choice structure was conducted in Finland.•The FIT-Choice scale functioned quite similarly in Finland and Germany.•Motivations for teaching seemed to be more different than similar in these two countries.•Perceptions of teaching seemed to be more similar than different in these two countries.