Motivation for becoming a teacher and engagement with the profession: Evidence from different contexts

•We investigated the assumption that motivation is relevant for preservice teachers’ engagement to the profession.•Two teacher training programmes were included: one for primary education and one for secondary education.•Working with children and adolescents was the most important motive to become a teacher.•Perceiving teaching as a fallback career was negatively related to many factors relevant for the engagement to the profession.

In this study, the assumption that motivation is relevant for preservice teachers’ engagement to the profession is investigated using the Factors Influencing Teaching (FIT) Choice theory. This assumption is tested in two Dutch teacher training contexts. Survey data from preservice teachers training in training for secondary education level (n = 168) and primary education level (n = 53) were used in stepwise regression analyses. In both contexts, working with children and adolescents was in the top three of important motives to become a teacher. As well, this motive predicted many factors relevant for the engagement to the profession (e.g., planned effort, planned persistence, and leadership aspirations). Differences between the contexts were observed regarding which motives contribute to the preservice teachers’ engagement to the profession.