Factors influencing choosing teaching as a career: South Korean preservice teachers

This study validated the underlying factor structure of the Factors Influencing Teaching (FIT)-Choice survey in the South Korea context and examined motivations and perceptions of 903 Korean preservice teachers by major demographic characteristics. Secondary preservice teachers reported significantly higher values than elementary preservice teachers for Qualification fit and desire to teach and Task return. Male preservice teachers believed more strongly than female preservice teachers that they chose the teaching profession because of Qualification fit, Influencing others, and Task return. Compared to freshmen/sophomores, juniors/seniors reported significantly higher values for Task demand. Participants with low- to medium-level self-reported income ($12K–$46K) weighted Benefits significantly higher than those with medium-level income ($46K–$88K). STEM majors reported higher values for the Qualification fit and Influencing others than non-STEM majors. As South Korea is one of the few countries which has an oversupply of highly qualified teacher candidates, findings were compared with other countries to provide useful insights to improve recruitment of highly qualified individuals to teaching workforce in many countries where teacher shortage is a chronic problem. Based on these data analyses, we argue that policy makers, politicians, education researchers, and others who care about quality education and student academic achievements need to make efforts to increase task returns and benefits.