Janis Jarvis and Derek Woodrow Manchester Metropolitan University There are very few studies which consider why students choose to take a PGCE one-year teacher training course and there seem to be none at all which looks at different reasons students from different disciplines may have for deciding to enter teacher training. Research by Reid and Caudwell (1999) used questionnaire techniques to investigate PGCE trainees reasons for choosing teaching as a career. Assessing responses to twenty-one different possible reasons ranked in importance on a Likert scale, they found that the two most popular reasons chosen by 96 per cent of the 453 trainees were that they enjoyed working with children and that they felt teaching would bring high job satisfaction. They distinguished between arts and mathematics/ science graduates but found little difference in the results, the greatest being that 40 per cent of arts trainees compared with only 17 per cent of mathematics/science trainees chose continuing their interest in their studies as important. Whilst conducting research into trainee learning styles (Jarvis, 2002) the opportunity was taken to explore again the reasons for choosing a career in teaching, but allowing free responses rather than the prompted responses employed by Reid and Caudwell. Method As part of a research project concerning learning preferences of PGCE and undergraduate students (Jarvis, 2002), two successive cohorts of trainee teachers at Manchester Metropolitan University, a total of 483 students, were presented with a questionnaire. The students were training to become secondary-level teachers specialising in a variety of subjects (see Table 1). Thirty-two per cent of the sample was male and most students were aged between twenty-two and thirty years, although ages ranged between twenty years and over fifty years. There was a small proportion (6 per cent) of ethnic minority students included in the sample. In addition to the main study the questionnaire also asked, Why did you choose to do a PGCE course? This followed a different perspective from Reid and Caudwell in that the reasons for choosing a PGCE course were not restricted by pre-coded responses and so did not ask for opinions on a range 29
Research in Education No. 73 Table 1 Subjects and number of trainees Subject No. of trainees English 88 Social studies 14 Art 52 Modern foreign languages 36 Science 94 Geography 32 Business studies 33 Music 11 Religious education 16 Physical education 9 Design and technology 49 Mathematics 49 of answers. It is most unlikely that a prospective teacher would not agree that love of teaching children was part of their reason for choosing teaching, but in our survey it is interesting, for example, that not one trainee studying religious education (admittedly a small sample) presented this, unprompted, as a reason for entry. A second group of RE trainees were questioned in order to enlarge the sample and though there was some mention of children it remained a very small unprompted response. For analytical purposes the responses were grouped into six categories and these represent 93 per cent of all responses. The remaining 7 per cent gave varying reasons which did not fit into any of the categories and tended to be of a more personal nature. 30 Findings A small minority of trainees had no intention to teach, using the PGCE course as a stepping stone to another career such as educational psychology. The six categories which emerged (with overall response rates) were: 1 Want a challenging/stable/rewarding career (45 per cent). 2 Enjoy the subject/want to pass on love of the subject (16 per cent). 3 Love of children/want to work with children/want to inspire young people (12 per cent). 4 Always wanted to teach (10 per cent). 5 Enjoy teaching (6 per cent). 6 Change in career (4 per cent). The most popular response for all trainees was career-related, with 45 per cent of all trainees stating that they wanted a challenging, stable or rewarding career. However, when analysed by subject there are notable differences. Fifty-six per cent of RE trainees and 54 per cent of art trainees gave this reason but only 22 per cent of PE trainees. This was also the reason given by 47 per cent of mathematics trainees and 38 per cent of English trainees.
The second most popular reason, in contrast to Reid and Caudwell s (1999) study, was a wish to continue with the subject. Again the highest proportion by subject was religious education, at 28 per cent, followed by physical education, at 22 per cent. No music trainees gave this as a reason; they presumably saw other ways of continuing their involvement with music. Only a small proportion (16 per cent) of mathematics trainees wanted to stay with their subject and 18 per cent of English trainees. Only 12 per cent of the total sample mentioned a desire to work with children. As indicated earlier, this is very different to the response from Reid and Caudwell s (1999) study, where 96 per cent felt that working with children was an important factor. This highlights the differences in results which are obtained by using different methods. Wanting to work with children, whilst undoubtedly a factor in more than 12 per cent of trainees decisions to become a teacher, did not seem to be their prime motivation. Only 7 per cent of English trainees, their lowest percentage, for example, specifically mentioned children in their response and only 10 per cent of mathematics trainees. At the other end of the scale nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of geography and PE trainees mentioned either a love of children or wanting to work with children. Ten per cent of the sample replied that they had always wanted to teach. This was the only response where there was a large discrepancy between the genders, with 4.5 per cent of males expressing this view and 15 per cent of females. This is likely to distort the subject figures, where 23 per cent of English trainees gave this reason and there was a high proportion of female trainees in the sample. The reason for the gender difference is likely to be due to social conditions in which it is still more likely that women rather than men consider it important that their career will ultimately fit in with family life, and indeed some female trainees did mention specifically wanting a career that would fit in with having children. However, only 5 per cent of modern foreign language trainees, 86 per cent of whom were female, replied that they had always wanted to teach and only 6 per cent of mathematics trainees. None of the business studies trainees or PE trainees gave this response. Some trainees had previous experience of teaching and so were able to respond that they had enjoyed teaching and wanted to formalise their qualifications. This response was given predominantly by music trainees (36 per cent) and PE trainees (33 per cent), both subjects where there are more opportunities to teach in informal non-institutional contexts which do not need a full teacher training course. A small number (4 per cent) of all trainees stated that their reason for choosing a PGCE course was that they were changing their career. There were big differences here in the subject areas, with 16 per cent of mathematics trainees giving this reason. The other subject areas well represented in this category are business studies, design and technology, and science. These shortage subjects have been in receipt of much advertising aimed at encouraging people to change careers. Only a very low number of trainees in other subjects gave this reason. 31
Research in Education No. 73 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Stable career Enjoy subject Love children Always wanted to teach Enjoy teaching Change in career All PGCE students Male students Female students Figure 1 Reasons for taking a PGCE course, by gender (%) 32 The students were also asked if they had considered an alternative career, and 68 per cent replied in the positive. A comparison with the reasons students have for entering teaching may go some way to explain this figure. Traditionally teaching has been thought of as a vocation, somewhat akin to the Church or medicine, with students choosing to teach for largely altruistic reasons. More recently it has been rebranded as a profession and as a well rewarded and well structured career with clearly defined training and promotion paths. The results of the study show not only that most students are motivated to enter teaching because of the career prospects but also that there is a clear subject differentiation in that maths, business studies and music students, for example, are much more likely than those specialising in geography, English or religious education to enter teaching primarily because they are seeking a career. In order to illustrate this more clearly, the six reasons given above for choosing to take a PGCE course were broadly divided into vocational commitment and career-related reasons. Vocational reasons included love of the subject, wanting to work with children and always having wanted to teach. Responses relating to wanting a challenging, stable or rewarding career, changing career and enjoying teaching (wanting to formalise teaching qualifications) were considered to be more career-oriented responses. If divided in this way, then 38 per cent of trainees had vocational reasons for choosing a PGCE course. Perhaps of more relevance, though, to the subject specificity of these choices is that a familiar pattern emerges, with more English and humanities trainees being motivated for vocational reasons than career-minded mathematics trainees (see Table 2).
Table 2 Percentage of PGCE trainees giving vocational commitment rather than career-related reasons for their choice Subject Vocational % Geography 50 English 48 Religious education 48 Social science 45 Physical education 44 Design and technology 38 Modern foreign languages 38 Science 38 Art 32 Music 27 Business studies 27 Mathematics 22 There is a gender bias to the responses, with 45 per cent of female trainees and 33 per cent of male trainees choosing the more vocational reasons. This does not fully explain the differences in subject percentages, though, particularly as both geography and mathematics are represented by almost equal numbers of male and female trainees. It is noteworthy that the nearly equal gender recruitment of trainees to mathematics is despite a preponderance of males in undergraduate study. The shortage subjects of mathematics, science, design and technology, and modern foreign languages are worth considering separately. These subjects are most attractive to people wishing to change their careers, and the influence of financial incentives must be a major factor. They tend not to be the subjects selected by trainees with more vocational reasons for taking a PGCE course. This would suggest that financial incentives and an emphasis on career structure and employment security are indeed likely to be more motivating for trainees in these subjects than more altruistic incentives. The alternative, and at least as persuasive, explanation would be that publicising the bursaries and financial incentives prompts the trainees to see these as the more important reasons for entering the profession. Discussion Decision making, of course, is not that simple, but is a complex process with many influences and motivations. Indeed, some trainees may not be consciously aware of exactly what brought them into the profession other than the overt circumstances of chance or convenience. In this survey we asked for the one reason that came unprompted to their minds. Using an interview methodology (also initially unstructured) with fifty experienced mathematics teachers, reflecting retrospectively on their reason for being in the profession, Andrews and Hatch (2002) found thirteen categories of response, 33
Research in Education No. 73 34 which were largely composed of the same elements as our categories, the other interesting ones being: 1 Someone else suggested it. 2 A decision taken after graduating. 3 To escape from other employment. 4 I knew a teacher. The overall research in which this was only a peripheral question (Jarvis, 2002) does in fact also bear on some of these findings. In this study it was clear (indeed, statistically significant) that English and mathematics trainees emerge from quite different contexts. English undergraduates and trainees expressed a clear preference for interactive activity, sought understanding and interconnected knowledge, were intrinsically motivated, believed that knowledge was relational, and were self-regulated in their learning. Mathematics trainees, on the other hand, were less interested in interaction than in gaining knowledge, tended to prioritise knowledge over understanding, were extrinsically motivated and saw knowledge as fact rather than opinion. Andrews and Hatch quoted some teachers as expressing the attitude that they enjoyed the sense of closure which comes from solving a problem and knowing it is correct (Andrews, 2002). In the context of these preferences one could expect that mathematics trainees would be more career than vocationdirected and that English students were more likely to want to teach as a career congenial to their general preferences. Other subjects were more variable in their preferences. Notably RE students tended to shy away from interactive actions and to see knowledge prioritised over understanding, even though they were committed to its relational (rather than factual) nature. PE trainees also saw knowledge as to be known rather than understood and liked to be told what to do in their learning, though as one might expect they were positive about seeking interaction in their learning. These differences raise questions about the expectations and presentation not only of recruiting material but also of the courses themselves. These differences reflect not only the view of higher education students but also the nature and presentation of these subjects on schools. (See, for example, Jones et al., 1999, in their interviews with sixth-form students and undergraduates about choosing, or not choosing, mathematics as degree subject.) Education is so essentially conservative in preserving and perpetuating the nature of disciplines, students are led to choose the subjects that suit them and they in turn maintain those preferences. Kember and Gow (1994) identified pastoral interest (talking and listening) and motivation (creating enthusiasm and excitement) as being characteristics of facilitative teaching, whereas good knowledge of the subject and organisation enabling a clear structure of the subject to be taught are characteristics of a transmission model. Such is the psychological preference of students who choose to study mathematics it is not surprising that few choose teaching as a career, whereas the preferences of English and art students are so much more akin to those required in teaching that it is natural that they are drawn towards this career. There have been
noble attempts during the past decade or more to enlarge the repertoire and secure a better balance of teaching styles and teaching approaches in many subjects but clearly the current recruitment pattern makes such efforts a labour of Hercules! References Andrews P., and Hatch, G. (2002), Why do people decide to train to teach? in S. Johnson-Wilder (ed.), Key Stage 3 Mathematics Teachers: the Current Situation, Initiatives and Visions: Conference Proceedings, pp. 129 40. Milton Keynes: Centre for Mathematics Education, Open University. Jarvis, J. (2002), Learning Preferences of Undergraduate and PGCE Trainees in Relation to Subjects of Study, Ph.D. thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University. Jones, S., Sanders, S. E., and Tanner, H. (1999), Choosing a Mathematics Degree, report to the Teacher Training Agency. Kember, D., and Gow, L. (1994), Orientations to teaching and their effect on the quality of learning, Journal of Higher Education 65 (1), 58 75. Reid, I., and Caudwell, J. (1999), Why did secondary PGCE students choose teaching as a career? Research in Education 58, 47 58. Address for correspondence Dr Janis Jarvis, Institute of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, Crewe Green Road, Crewe CW5 1DU. E-mail l.mackay@mmu.ac.uk 35