Philippine E-Journals

Teaching as an occupation in Hong Kong differs significantly from the western context from which most researches on teaching motivation originate. Through in-depth interviews with 38 graduands of a teacher-preparation programme, beginning teachers’ motivations for choosing teaching were explored using grounded theory methods. Respondents’ motivations coalesce into two categories, “teaching as a safe haven”, and “internal satisfaction”. Participants were conceptualized as falling into two groups: one group was motivated exclusively by “internal satisfaction”, the other saw “teaching as a safe haven” but at the same time also appreciated teaching’s internal satisfaction.