Enhancing novice teacher motivation through professional conferences

ABSTRACT

Teacher attrition continues to be a major issue in the field of education, and more research is needed on innovative efforts to enhance teacher motivation and encourage retention. This study explored the experiences of teachers who attended and presented at academic or professional conferences within their first two years of teaching. Qualitative survey data from 20 teachers showed that participating in conferences was perceived to have increased their sense of teacher efficacy, value of the role of teacher, and overall motivation of educators. Findings suggest that teacher education and induction programmes should consider ways to encourage conference participation as a way to enhance motivation of novice teachers.

KEYWORDS:

• Novice teachers
• motivation
• conferences
• teacher efficacy
• value

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).