I Always Wanted to Become a Teacher Because… Exploring Career Choice Motivations from the Lens of Actor-Network Theory

Abstract

Chapter 4 I Always Wanted to Become a Teacher Because… Exploring Career Choice Motivations from the lens of Actor-Network Theory explores factors that impinge on career choice motivations among a particular cohort of Scottish undergraduate and postgraduate ITE students. Mifsud provides a brief presentation of the current state of the teaching profession in relation to the notion of attractiveness, set within the local policy background in order to explore why people pursue teaching both as a first and a second career choice. The findings of this empirical study are interpreted through ANT, thus presenting a picture of the web of both human and socio-material influences that attract individuals to the teaching profession network. These have implications in the field of ITE in light of the current teacher retention and attrition issues.