Teachers’ motivations for master’s degree programs in education in Israeli teacher training institutions and the implications for government policy-making concerning those programs

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to identify teachers’ motivations to study Master of Education (M.Ed.) programs offered by teachers’ training colleges. M.Ed. degree programs have become available in Israel since 2004, with a rapid increase since then in the number of colleges offering various programs and a consequent increase in the number of graduates. M.Ed. degrees follow one of two teaching approaches: (1) top-down/transmission of knowledge (2) bottom-up transformative studies to support teachers’ professional autonomy. The first approach complies with the policy of the Council for Higher Education (CHE). The other is promoted by the Israeli Ministry of Education as an integral part of teachers’ professional development. The study’s methodology included examining data from multiple sources: documentation concerning the academic programs, government policy statements, and surveys administered to teachers who had graduated successfully from M.Ed. programs over the past decade and are now working in the field. We found that after the first decade of M.Ed. courses in Israel, significantly more programs incline towards the bottom-up/transformative approach, aiming to promote individual, personal and professional development instead of adopting the transmission approach. Teachers prefer M.Ed. programs at universities that include research. Yet their motivation to study is primarily intrinsic motivation, whether they aspire to study at universities or at teachers’ training colleges. Results are pertinent for government planning of teachers’ professional development. Further study into the needs of teachers is required to endorse these conclusions.

KEYWORDS:

• Postgraduate studies (PS)
• Master of Education studies (MES)
• professional development (PD)
• teacher training colleges (TTC)

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Mofet Institute for their full support of the research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the This study was fully funded by the MOFET Institute, Tel Aviv.

Notes on contributors

Khalid Arar

Khalid Arar Prof. Khalid Arar (PhD), specializes in research on policy analysis in education and higher education. He conducted studies in the Middle-East, Europe and in North America and in many other cross-national contexts. His research focuses broadly in equity and diversity in education and higher education.

Ruth Zuzovsky

Ruth Zuzovsky Prof. Ruth Zuzovsky is a senior researcher at the Kibbutzim College of Education and at the Science and Technology Education Center at Tel Aviv University. Her publications deal with secondary analyses of large-scale international evaluation studies, teachers’ professional development and policy issues regarding teacher education.

Smadar Donitsa-Schmidt

Smadar Donitsa-Schmidt Prof. Smadar Donitsa-Schmidt (PhD) is the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her research interests are teacher education and professional development, policy in education and higher education, lifelong learning, internationalization and second language education.

Ricardo Trumper

Ricardo Trumper Prof. Ricardo Trumper specializes in research on physics education and teachers’ education. His research focuses on two main fields: the constructivist teaching of physics and the professional development of teachers.

Judith Barak

Judith Barak Dr. Judith Barak is the former head of graduate studies in Kaye College of Education. Her professional and research focus along the years is on teachers’ professional development and innovative programs of teacher education.