Abstract

This paper aims to identify key motivational factors and examine the role of gender that influence positivelydecision to become a teacher in the UAE. Furthermore, due to recent heavy enrolment in teacher education atpublicly-funded institutions, this study also finds it essential to understand B.Ed. students’ intentions to teachafter graduation. A total of 116 pre-service teachers studying in Teachers’ Academy in UAE was surveyed usinga self-administered questionnaire survey. The data was analysed using multivariate statistical techniques usingSPSS. A Likert-type scale with 14 motivational items under four broad categories of motivations, namely,altruistic, intrinsic, extrinsic and pragmatic, was used to accomplish the stated aims of this research. The studyconfirmed that the intrinsic motivation and altruistic motivation are significant determinant for their intention tobecome teacher. Extrinsic motivational factors have a very marginal role to play in their decision to teach in theschool. The result did not find any significant impact of Pragmatic motivational factors on the intention to teach.Moreover, the results did not find any significant difference between male and female students. These outcomesof the research would be of help for the UAE educators and policymakers. Also, since teachers’ education forthe Emiraties (UAE nationals) are mostly funded by the government, the findings of this study would be usefulin recruiting potential students who have higher possibility to contribute in educational sector of the UAE. Toimprove the teacher education as well as the recruitment policies and their implications in practice, facilitationof a strong base of ‘educational research’ in the UAE is recommended. It is important to note that the findings ofthis study cannot be generalized to the entire UAE teacher education policies and practices due to the small sizeof the sample available for analysis. Overall, the study provides insights into the motivation factors that promptgreater number of pre-service students to consider teaching as a profession. This would therefore be a useful toolfor the UAE educational stakeholders against the backdrop of continuous fall in students’ participation.

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