Are teachers ‘same same but different’? – The meaning of career success across occupations

ABSTRACT

What a ‘successful career’ means to teachers is little understood, although this would allow schools and educational governance alike to support teachers’ development, and to reduce their attrition. This study examines how 240 school teachers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland conceptualize career success, as compared to 185 health-care/social workers and 125 information technology professionals. Using a cross-culturally validated, multidimensional scale, the authors find that teachers differ from other occupations in some, but not all, career success dimensions. Their findings underline the relevance of cross-occupational studies in research related to teachers’ career development, and they suggest new levers for increasing teachers’ motivation, creating more effective developmental opportunities for them, and – ultimately – reducing teacher attrition.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher
• career
• career success
• cross-occupational study
• international study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Martin Gubler

Prof. Dr Martin Gubler is a Vice Dean and the Head of the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs at the Lucerne School of Business in Lucerne (Switzerland). His research mainly focuses on career concepts, career patterns and career development. He completed his PhD in Organizational Psychology on career orientations of IT professionals and holds university degrees in Business Information Systems and as a teacher. Before joining academia, Martin gained many years of work experience as a teacher, as a senior IT HR professional in international roles and as a career counselor.

Petra Eggenhofer-Rehart

Mag. Dr Petra Eggenhofer-Rehart is a Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Graz, Austria. She graduated in Psychology from the University of Vienna, Austria, and received her doctoral degree in Social and Economic Sciences from WU Vienna University of Economics and Business in Vienna, Austria, where she previously worked as a Research and Teaching Assistant. Her current research focus is on career orientations and vocational interests, career patterns, career success and group processes.

Maike Andresen

Prof. Dr Maike Andresen is Full Professor of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior at University of Bamberg in Germany. From 2015–18 she served as Vice President for Research at the University of Bamberg and now is the Special Representative for Internationalization of Research. Maike has widely published and serves as editorial or advisory board member of several international journals and book series. Her primary research interests are in the areas of international mobility, global career management, management and organization development, and work flexibilization.

Debbie Mandel

Dr des. Debbie Mandel is a researcher at the Institute for Research on Professions and Professional Learning at the Schwyz University of Teacher Education, Goldau (Switzerland), and a lecturer in research methodology and education-related topics (e.g. psychology of teaching and learning). Her research primarily focuses on schools and professional development in the teaching profession, investigating questions such as how teachers pursue their careers and how they can be supported in doing so. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Science, Business Administration and Communication Studies.

Wolfgang Mayrhofer

Prof. Dr Wolfgang Mayrhofer is Full Professor and head of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Management and Organizational Behaviour, WU Vienna, Austria. He conducts research in comparative international human resource management and careers, and systems theory and management, and has received national and international awards for outstanding research and service to the academic community. Wolfgang has widely published, serves as editorial or advisory board member of several international journals and research centres, and regularly consults with organizations in the for-profit and non-profit world.

Philip Lehmann

Philip Lehmann holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He currently works as a doctoral researcher at the Chair of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior at the University of Bamberg.

Nanni Elisabeth Schleicher

Dr Nanni Elisabeth Schleicher earned her doctoral degree at the Chair for Business Administration, University of Hamburg (Germany).

Florian Schramm

Prof Dr Florian Schramm holds the Chair for Business Administration, University of Hamburg (Germany).