Motivation and demotivation of university teachers

Abstract

Teachers make up one of the lowest income groups in Turkey. Research tells us that with their large class sizes, poor structural and physical characteristics of the classes, and the inadequate professional conditions offered to teachers, education at the university level is not up to modern standards. The aim of the study reported in this paper is to examine sources of motivation and demotivation among teachers at a public university in Istanbul. Three hundred teachers (M = 112, F = 188) aged between 33 and 65, were asked two open‐ended questions regarding their motivational and demotivational tendencies towards their profession. Motivating aspects/factors of teaching have been compressed and categorised under four main units: Students, Career, Social Status and Ideals. Demotivating aspects/factors have been compressed and categorised under five different headings: Students, Economics, Structural and Physical Characteristics, Research and Working Conditions. Results show that students are the main source of motivation and demotivation for university teachers. Besides students, while career is a secondary motivational factor, economics and research are secondary demotivating factors.

Keywords:

• teacher demotivation
• teacher job satisfaction
• teacher motivation

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by Boğaziçi University Research Foundation, 02HD502.