Date of Award

12-1-2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.

College

College of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

John Mendes, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Monica Nagy, Ed.D.

Third Advisor

Patricia Akojie, Ed.D.

Abstract

In this study, motivational levels and self-efficacy of educators are assessed as a case study. Twenty-two participants were divided into three subgroups engaged in the study. The subgroups included a group of teacher candidates who had recently declared their majors, a group of teacher candidates who had completed all of their coursework, and a group of veteran teachers who had completed a formal teacher education evaluation system. An academic motivational scale was administered to determine if the participants are extrinsically or intrinsically motivated to be an educator. In addition, a teacher self-efficacy scale was administered to distinguish the self-efficacy beliefs and identify their strength in either student engagement, instructional strategies, or classroom management. Open-ended interviews were the primary data collection tool used to gain in-depth information on the environmental factors that the participants have in common. The key findings from this research imply that teacher candidates and veteran teachers are more extrinsically motivated than they are intrinsically motivated. The results indicate that the teacher candidates have an equal confidence in their student engagement, instructional strategy, and classroom management abilities, whereas veteran teachers are more confident in their student engagement abilities. The themes that all of the participants had in common are: connection with the students, socioeconomic status having no economic bearing, innate satisfaction, experiencing being burnt out, job security, family influence, and prior teaching experiences that contributed to their decision to enter the field of education.

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