Motivations to have a Second Career as a Teacher in Vocational Education and Training

Abstract

In Sweden, upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) teachers must have high relevant vocational experience from a previous career, but 44% do not have a teaching certificate and thus are not formally qualified. However, there are significant differences between the 12 national VET programs in this respect. For example, 68 percent of the Child Recreation Program teachers are qualified, but only 28 percent of the HVAC and Property Maintenance Program teachers. The overall aim of this study is to identify and understand factors that motivate individuals to choose VET teaching as a second career in Sweden. As the Factors influencing teaching choice (FIT-Choice) scale has been rarely used in a Swedish VET context, a secondary aim is to test its suitability in this context. Thus, we investigate Swedish VET teachers’ choice of a second career, using the FIT-Choice scale. The findings show that it has sufficient validity and reliability for investigating Swedish VET teachers’ motivational determinants, and that the factors motivating their career change are highly dependent on their former occupation and working conditions. Other important factors include the family-friendly work schedules. The findings contribute to understanding of factors that motivate people to become vocational teachers, which is essential for improving the development of the highly skilled employees required in numerous sectors.

Transitioning from industry to teaching in VET: profiles of VET teachers in Chile

“…The FIT-Choice model mapped onto the main constructs of the expectancy-value theory, the most important factors identified in studies on motivation to become a teacher. With some modifications, these factors have shown sufficient validity for application among in-service VET teachers in Switzerland (Berger and D'Ascoli, 2012a) and Sweden (Kristmansson and Fjellstr€ om, 2022), suggesting that determinants of career choice for teaching in VET partially resemble those observed in other teacher populations. Teaching is not viewed as an effortless occupation, and individuals choose it as a profession that aligns with their values and aptitudes (Berger and Girardet, 2015).…”

“…Another distinct feature identified among VET teachers is the tendency to assign greater significance to personal utility value factors, such as job security and time for family (Berger and Girardet, 2015). However, some authors point the degree to which these factors motivate a career change to teaching in VET largely depends on the individual's former occupation and working conditions (Kristmansson and Fjellstr€ om, 2022). Furthermore, there is evidence that VET teachers who place a single emphasis on personal utility value are often less satisfied with their career choice and show lower levels of commitment to their profession.…”

“…Gaining insights into the factors that attract and retain industry workers as VET teachers is crucial in addressing the persistent shortage of VET teachers. However, currently, the knowledge of these factors at the school level is limited to a few European countries, such as Sweden (Kristmansson and Fjellstr€ om, 2022), Switzerland (Berger and D'Ascoli, 2012a, b;Berger and Girardet, 2015) and Germany (Stellmacher et al, 2020), and further research is required to examine these factors in other settings. Situated in the Chilean context, this study addresses this research gap by investigating how the perception of prior occupation relates to motivations for teaching in VET at the upper-secondary level among a sample of VET teachers.…”