Filipino Engineering Students’ Perceptions about Teaching and Motivations to Pursue Teaching Career

Quality education depends primarily on the quality of teachers. This is particularly true in the case of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Understanding the factors that motivate students and professionals to choose a teaching career in STEM is crucial in teacher recruitment, retention, and performance. It is for this reason that this study sought to determine the motivation to teach among Filipino engineering students as well as their perceptions about this profession. Fifty-seven engineering students answered a questionnaire adopted from Watt and Richardson’s Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) Scale. Results suggest that top motivators include altruistic-intrinsic reasons such as the desire to make social contributions, help shape the future of children/adolescents, and promote social equity. Prior experiences in learning and teaching were also determined to be influential among the respondents. At the same time, the respondents also perceived teaching as a demanding task that requires high level of expertise. Low salaries and experiences of dissuasion from others were also noted as potential barriers to choosing teaching as a career. It is recommended that more comprehensive studies be done not only with engineering students but also with students of other STEM fields. It is hoped that more support and encouragement will be accorded to these prospective STEM educators by understanding their motivations in choosing and beliefs about teaching.

Keywords –teacher motivation, perception, STEM education, engineers