Teachers’ motivation to participate in continuous professional development: relationship with factors at the personal and school level

Abstract

Teachers' motivation to participate in professional learning is a significant factor in explaining the effectiveness of continuous professional development programmes. The present study investigated how factors at teachers' personal and school levels are related to their motivation to participate in professional learning activities. A questionnaire was completed by 472 Chinese teachers. Multivariate analysis revealed that several factors at the teacher level (teachers' prior experience with learning activities, teaching experience, self-efficacy and conceptions of learning) and the school level (work and emotional pressure, colleague support and principal leadership) were related to their motivation to participate in professional learning. These findings are discussed in the context of the professional development of Chinese teachers. Implications are generated for teacher education and continuous professional development.

Understanding and Enhancing Chinese TEFL Teachers’ Motivation for Continuing Professional Development Through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory

“…This was somewhat different from the study conducted by Zhang et al (2021) in which the statistics showed a significant association between teachers' teaching experience and autonomous motivation. It was stated that teachers with more teaching experience were less autonomously motivated for professional learning activities.…”

“…The main reason for this discrepancy possibly lies in the programs designated to the research. In the study of Zhang et al (2021) , the professional program only referred to a specific educational program refining teachers’ pedagogical strategies. Teachers with more teaching experience may be less in favor of interactions about their subject domain.…”

“…This could imply that autonomy and relatedness were less associated with teachers' motivation for CPD. In fact, a recent study conducted in China, identified that colleague support and task autonomy were unrelated to Chinese teachers' motivation for professional development (Zhang et al, 2021), which contradicted some of the findings in the Western context highlighting the significant positive relationship between colleague support, task autonomy and teachers' motivation for professional learning (Kwakman, 2003;Thoonen et al, 2011). This contrast may be attributed to cultural differences.…”

“…In addition, their motivation may be distinguished from that of other social and cultural situations, showing the structure and characteristics of a collective culture in which individuals tend to internalize the demands of people they feel attached to Bao and Lam (2008) . Despite this cultural difference, another factor concerning the importance of investigating Chinese teachers’ CPD motivation is that the extant research in the Chinese context stands in stark contrast to that of western societies where most studies relevant to CPD motivation have been carried out ( Xu and Cai, 2013 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ).…”

Teachers’ learning and knowledge: motivation and self-efficacy

“…That many teachers are sustained in their motivation by and continue their learning through the notion of teaching as an intellectual activity has been a recurring theme through the pages of JET (see e.g. Murray et al 2009;Tang, Wong, and Cheng 2015;Glutsch and König 2019;Zhang, Admiraal, and Saab 2021).…”