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Does Teacher Motivation Really Matter? Exploring the Mediating Role of Teachers’ Self-efficacy in the Relationship Between Motivation and Job Satisfaction

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• Published: 08 January 2024

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• Tsung-Jen Chang   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0008-2165-1976 1 &
• Yao-Ting Sung 1  

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In recent years, there has been a significant increase in teacher turnover, which poses a notable challenge to improving the quality of education. Individual characteristics such as teacher motivation, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction have been linked to the tendency for turnover. However, the exact connections between these attributes remain somewhat unclear. To address this issue, this study applied the Social Cognitive Career Theory to explore the relationships among teacher motivation, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction in middle school settings. Using data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey, this study conducted a mediation analysis through structural equation modelling to explore how teacher motivation and self-efficacy impact the job satisfaction of 3,835 middle school teachers in Taiwan. The findings reveal that social utility motivation has a direct, positive influence on two aspects of teacher job satisfaction—the work environment and professional satisfaction—and this influence occurs indirectly through teacher self-efficacy. Conversely, personal utility motivation directly predicts teachers' job satisfaction within their profession. By considering teacher self-efficacy as a mediating factor, this study offers new insights into the intricate relationships between teacher motivation, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction.

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This work was financially supported by the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan.

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Chang, TJ., Sung, YT. Does Teacher Motivation Really Matter? Exploring the Mediating Role of Teachers’ Self-efficacy in the Relationship Between Motivation and Job Satisfaction. Asia-Pacific Edu Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-023-00803-4

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The effect of teaching style and academic motivation on student evaluation of teaching: Insights from social cognition

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The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Student evaluation of teaching (SET) is ubiquitous in higher education as a metric for assessing teachers, gaining student feedback, and informing faculty personnel decisions. It is thus imperative to examine the dimensions along which a teacher is judged. This study tested the application of the universal dimensions of social judgment (i.e., warmth and competence) in SET. A total of 108 psychology undergraduates ( M age  = 23.63, SD age  = 3.14) in Singapore rated a fictitious teacher (i.e., either relationship-oriented or task-oriented) based on their interactions over a programmed online chat. Participants responded to the social judgment measures of warmth and competence and rated their academic motivation. Results indicated a higher SET rating for a relationship-oriented than a task-oriented teacher. Further, student academic motivation mediated the link between teaching style and judgment of competence. The findings extend the supremacy of warmth in the context of SET, thus supporting the application of social cognition literature to educational research. In addition, the findings suggest that fostering a match in task goals between a teacher and student improves ratings of teacher competence.

1. Introduction

To improve quality teaching, regular and objective examination of teachers is imperative ( Spooren et al., 2013 ). Since the 1920s, universities have relied on students to assess teachers. Students are considered relevant stakeholders in gathering insights into teaching quality. SET is primarily drawn on the perception of teaching style, and the experience one has with the teacher ( Coldren and Hively, 2009 ). SET is a tool for measuring teaching performance either in whole or part ( Spooren et al., 2013 ). However, the basis of these perceptions has yet to be thoroughly investigated ( Zhao et al., 2022 ). There is thus merit in extending the decades of research in social cognition to the domain of SET. Research has established warmth and competence as the two universal dimensions of social perception ( Fiske et al., 2007 ). In the present study, we address the possibility of applying the tenets of social judgment to the parameters of SET.

1.1. Teaching style

Teaching style refers to a pervasive quality of teaching behavior that persists even though the taught content changes ( Ghanizadeh and Jahedizadeh, 2016 ). Teaching style has been documented to affect student learning experience and student impressions of the teacher ( Coldren and Hively, 2009 ), potentially factoring into SET. Like leaders, teachers influence students’ attitudes and behavior ( Yukl, 1989 ). Teachers monitor, motivate, manage, and engage students. Their expertise grants them respect and authority in the classroom to control rewards and punishment for students. These functions draw parallels between a teacher and a leader. A teacher’s impact on the education system is synonymous with a leader’s role in organizational success. Hence, a teacher’s position mirrors a leader’s hierarchical power structures in a high power distance organization ( Ryan et al., 2017 ).

The task-relationship model in organizational psychology distinguishes leader behavior as either work oriented and achievement focused (task) or person oriented and relationship focused (relationship; Northouse, 2018 ). Therefore, task-oriented leaders prioritize goal attainment by efficiently allocating resources and delegating responsibilities to their followers. Relationship-oriented leaders help followers feel comfortable with the self, others, and the situation ( Cohen et al., 2004 ). In education, teachers who embody a task-oriented style demand high academic performance by providing rigorous instructions and challenges to students ( Sandilos et al., 2017 ). On the other hand, teachers who embody a relationship-oriented style render warmth to students through unconditional positive regard, attentiveness, care, and respect. Adopting an appropriate teaching style is integral to good teaching practices and evaluation. Thus, the present study investigated the applicability of two leadership styles in teaching and how they may affect SET.

1.2. Student evaluation of teaching

Adhering to Spooren et al. (2013) recommendations for designing SET, there is merit in applying the well-established concept of social judgment to SET. Research in social cognition suggests that warmth and competence are universal dimensions based on how we perceive and relate to others. According to the stereotype content model (SCM), the universality of the dimensions results from one’s need to survive and thrive in the social world ( Fiske et al., 2007 ). The judgment of warmth anticipates others’ intentions toward us and is accompanied by questions of their trustworthiness, sincerity, kindness, and friendliness ( Aaker et al., 2010 ). Next, in temporal sequence, the judgment of competence anticipates others’ capability to enact those intentions through their demonstrations of respect, self-efficacy, skills, confidence, and intelligence. The SCM’s generality across place, levels, and time ( Fiske, 2018 ) further supports the application of the social judgment dimensions to SET.

Purportedly, warmth corresponds with traits related to relationship-orientation, while competence coincides with task-orientation ( Brambilla et al., 2010 ). However, this begs the question of whether a task-oriented teaching style is perceived as higher on competence than a relationship-oriented teaching style; and whether a relationship-oriented teaching style is perceived as higher on warmth than a task-oriented teaching style. Thus, the main research question we investigate is whether the evaluation of task and relationship-oriented teaching styles differs on the dimensions of warmth and competence.

Hypothesis 1 : There would be a significant main effect of teaching style on the SET dimensions of warmth and competence.

Hypothesis 1a : A task-oriented teacher would be rated higher on competence than a relationship-oriented teacher.

Hypothesis 1b : A relationship-oriented teacher would be rated higher on warmth than a task-oriented teacher.

1.3. Student academic motivation

Student academic motivation is the vigor to engage, learn, and work effectively to achieve potential ( Martin, 2010 ). Komarraju (2013) revealed that students who lacked academic motivation valued the ‘caring’ trait in a teacher, while motivated students strongly endorsed the importance of a teacher being more professional than caring. Hence, the finding implies that students with high academic motivation prefer a task-oriented teacher, while those with low academic motivation prefer a relationship-oriented teacher. This speculation calls into question the role of student academic motivation when evaluating the two teaching styles in the present study. According to Dignath-van Ewijk (2016) , a match in task goals between two individuals forms the basis for assessing competence. Given that student academic motivation and teacher competence are grounded in the same need for task achievement ( Guay et al., 2010 ), this study hypothesizes that academic motivation would control how students perceive the respective teaching styles on the SET dimension of competence.

Hypothesis 2 : Student academic motivation will mediate the effect of teaching style on the SET dimension of competence.

2. Present study

In applying the social judgment dimensions to SET, participants of the present study will evaluate the task-oriented and relationship-oriented teaching styles based on the dimensions of warmth and competence. Additionally, the present study will test for the mediating effect of student academic motivation on the relationship between teaching style and the SET dimension of competence.

3. Methodology

3.1. participants and design.

One hundred and eight psychology undergraduates in Singapore ( M age  = 23.63, SD age  = 3.14) participated in the exchange of course credits. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two between-subjects experimental conditions (teaching style: task vs. relationship).

3.2. Measures

3.2.1. teacher judgment (dv).

Participants rated the teacher using the 12-item teacher judgment scale ( Poorani and Singh, 2015 ; α  = 0.94). The scale was patterned after the established social judgment dimensions ( Fiske et al., 2007 ) of warmth (e.g., ‘I think this lecturer would be approachable’, ‘this lecturer would be friendly toward individual students’) and competence (e.g., ‘this lecturer is probably an intelligent individual’, ‘this lecturer would probably achieve all of their goals’). Participants responded on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 ( strongly disagree ) to 7 ( strongly agree ).

3.2.2. Student academic motivation (MV)

The 12-item academic motivation sub-scale ( Martin, 2010 ; α  = 0.83) of the Motivation and Engagement Scale–University/College was used to assess participants’ academic motivation (e.g., If an assignment is difficult, I keep working at it trying to figure it out). Participants responded on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 ( strongly disagree ) to 7 ( strongly agree ).

3.2.3. Manipulation check

To check the success of the experimental manipulation of teaching style, participants rated the teacher on the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale ( Fiedler, 1964 ). Participants described the teacher on a series of 18, 8-point bipolar semantic differential scales (e.g., rejecting—accepting). The favorable pole of each scale is scored as “8,” and the unfavorable pole as “1.” Scores for all scales are summed, with low-LPC scores (i.e., 18—64) indicating task-orientation; high-LPC scores (i.e., 73—144) indicating relationship-orientation; and mid-ranged LPC scores (i.e., 65—72) indicating a hybrid. The LPC scores were matched against the participant’s assigned experimental condition.

3.3. Teaching style manipulation (IV) and procedure

The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee at James Cook University (Ref.H7563). Upon arrival at the lab, participants were assigned to one of two experimental conditions (i.e., task-oriented vs. relationship-oriented teacher) via permuted block randomization. Participants read a circular introducing a fictitious teacher who would mentor their research project. The circular contained information about the teacher’s research interest, field of expertise, and years of experience. The teaching style was manipulated using an online chat programmed to facilitate interaction between the teacher and participants. The chat was presented on Microsoft PowerPoint’s kiosk mode with images of the user session and loading and typing animations (see Figure 1 ).

Images of the user session (i.e., the login screen of the online chat, loading, typing animations) and sample block of interaction between the (task-oriented vs. relationship-oriented) teacher and participant in the online chat.

The teacher’s questions and instructions to participants were patterned after Northouse’s (2018) Style Questionnaire ( α  = 0.93). Two versions were developed to correspond to each teaching style. The relationship-oriented teacher was programmed to show flexibility in making decisions by allowing participants to choose the role they would like to be assigned for the research project. In contrast, the task-oriented teacher was programmed to pre-assign roles to the participants. Participants engaged in the online chat according to their assigned experimental condition. There was a total of six blocks of interaction. Participants took ~6 min to interact with their teacher. Participants chose one of two response choices for each block. The response options were kept the same throughout both conditions. A sample block of interaction from both versions are shown in Figure 1 . At the end of the chat, participants were invited to complete all the study’s questionnaires. The study took ~20 min to complete. Participants were debriefed after they finished responding. Data analyses were performed using IBM’s SPSS version 27.

4.1. Manipulation check

To test if the teaching style manipulation produced intended effect, an independent t -test was performed on the LPC scores. It revealed a significant difference between the scores in two identifiable levels of the teaching style condition (i.e., relationship-and task-orientation), t (106) = 20.86, p  < 0.001, Cohen’s d  = 4.01. Participants rated the relationship-oriented teacher ( M  = 108.31, SD = 22.04) higher than the task-oriented teacher ( M  = 33.74, SD  = 14.31) on the LPC scale. The result was consistent with the LPC score interpretation wherein higher scores on the LPC scale indicate relationship orientation while lower scores indicate task orientation. This verified the effectiveness of the teaching style manipulation.

4.2. Construct distinction and reliability

To test for construct distinction among the measures of competence, warmth, and student academic motivation, a principal components analysis was conducted on all 24 items using direct oblimin rotation. Factor patterns demonstrated clear loadings on the three factors and explained 80.06% of the total variance. Table 1 lists the factor patterns in the responses.

Factor patters in the responses to the competence, warmth, and student academic motivation measures.

In addition, the three distinct constructs showed excellent levels of internal consistency. The intercorrelations, reliability coefficients, and descriptives are presented in Table 2 .

Intercorrelations, reliability coefficients, and descriptive of the competence, warmth, and student academic motivation measures.

** p  < 0.01.

4.3. Hypotheses testing

4.3.1. hypotheses 1, 1a, 1b.

A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine the effect of teaching style on warmth and competence ( N  = 108). All underlying assumptions were supported. Findings revealed a significant main effect of teaching style on the combined DVs of warmth and competence, F (2, 105) = 13.64, p  < 0.001; Wilk’s Λ = 0.79, partial η 2  = 0.21, indicating that Hypothesis 1 was supported. The individual DVs were analyzed at the Bonferroni-adjusted alpha level of 0.025. There was no significant effect of teaching style on competence ( p  = 0.248), indicating that Hypothesis 1a was not supported. However, the effect of teaching style on warmth was statistically significant, F (1, 106) = 20.52, p  < 0.001, η 2  = 0.16, indicating that Hypothesis 1b was supported. Participants rated the relationship-oriented teacher significantly higher on warmth ( M  = 5.82, SD  = 1.11) than the task-oriented teacher ( M  = 4.73, SD  = 1.37).

4.3.2. Hypothesis 2

Mediation analysis was performed using SPSS Process Model 4 ( Hayes, 2018 ). Model 4 estimated (1) the indirect effect (IE) of teaching style on competence via academic motivation, (2) the bias-corrected 95% confidence interval (CI) around that IE from 5,000 bootstrap resamples, and (3) the mediation effect size (ES). We accept the IE as greater than zero if its bias-corrected 95% CI excluded zero.

The IE of teaching style on competence via academic motivation was significant, IE = 0.21, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.068, 0.371]. However, the direct effect of teaching style on competence was nonsignificant, b  = −0.056, t  = −0.437, p  = 0.66. While a mediation in the absence of a total effect ( b  = 0.151, t  = 1.162, p  = 0.25) may seem contradictory, evidence has suggested that the lack of a total effect does not preclude the possibility of observing an IE ( Rucker et al., 2011 ; Kenny and Judd, 2014 ). This anomaly may be attributed to the inadequate sample size of the present study. Post-hoc power analysis revealed an obtained power of 0.73 (alpha = 0.05; Faul et al., 2009 ). Thus, it can be argued that student academic motivation mediated the relationship between teaching style and competence, indicating that Hypothesis 2 was supported. Results are presented in Figure 2 .

The mediating effect of student academic motivation on the relationship between teaching style and the SET dimension of competence. ** p < 0.001.

5. Discussion

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of teaching style on SET. Results indicated a higher SET rating for a relationship-oriented than a task-oriented teacher. Further, student academic motivation mediated the link between teaching style and judgment of competence.

5.1. Findings and implications

Hypothesis 1, which predicted a significant main effect of teaching style on the dimensions of SET, was supported. A significant multivariate effect meant that the two teaching styles were discriminated against on the linear combination of warmth and competence. This finding supported the two fundamental and distinct categories of leadership style ( Northouse, 2018 ). The task-relationship model continued to differentiate beyond leadership literature. We can say that the online chat patterned after Northouse (2018) effectively discriminates between the two teaching styles, and teachers are perceived as leaders based on their behavior or style.

Hypothesis 1a, which predicted that a task-oriented teacher would be rated higher on competence than a relationship-oriented teacher, was rejected, implying that students perceived both teaching styles as relatively equal on the dimension of competence. Cuddy et al. (2008) argue that task-orientation is not fully representative of competence. Task-orientation focuses more on taking action, whereas competence entails possessing skills, talents, and capabilities. In the online chat, the task-oriented version of the teacher was programmed to mainly emphasize goal setting and delegation of workload (i.e., taking actions). According to Dignath-van Ewijk (2016) , an individual’s competence only matters when they have personal relevance to the perceiver. In our study, a lack of information about the teacher’s distinguishable competence traits and the low importance of the task may have diminished the sense of personal relevance for the participants.

Hypothesis 1b, which predicted a relationship-oriented teacher would be rated higher on warmth than a task-oriented teacher, was supported. This was consistent with Cohen et al. (2004) ‘s description of relationship orientation comprising warmth traits. Overall, findings show that the judgment of competence is constant while warmth varies across both teaching styles. This supports the supremacy of warmth over competence in that people are cognitively more sensitive to information regarding others’ warmth than competence cues (Cuddy et al., 2008). An important implication is that enacting warmth cues play a pivotal role in managing student impressions of the teacher and that warmth is specific to a relationship-oriented teaching style.

Hypothesis 2, which predicted student academic motivation would mediate the effect of teaching style on the SET dimension of competence, was supported. The mediation analysis revealed that relative to a relationship-oriented teacher, a task-oriented teacher was rated on average 0.21 ( ab ) units higher on competence due to student academic motivation. This was in line with Dignath-van Ewijk (2016) research, where a match in task goals forms the basis for student appraisal of teacher competence. This proposes that practicing a teaching style appropriate for the student’s academic motivation is pivotal for high SET scores on competence.

5.2. Contributions

The present study has extended the application of organizational and social cognition principles to research in education. It has not only tested but established the universality of social judgment dimensions in setting the parameters of SET. Further, findings supported the universality of the stereotype content model and have established high reliabilities for the two-factor model of warmth and competence. In addition, our study champions the adoption of the two-factor leadership models in the teaching domain. This encourages further theoretical and empirical explorations in generalizing ideas and theories developed within organizational psychology to the context of teaching.

5.3. Limitations and future directions

The present study was constrained to a smaller sample size with post-hoc power analysis (0.73; alpha = 0.5) falling below the recommended power of 0.8 (Faul et al., 2009), thus warranting a bigger sample size. Further, future studies could expand on the present findings by including the gender of the teacher and student as variables of interest. Understanding potential gender biases may contribute to the existing literature as extraneous factors biasing SET.

6. Conclusion

The present study extends the application of organizational and social psychology principles to research in the educational setting. By adopting universal dimensions of social judgment to the parameters of SET, the study has reinstated the supremacy of warmth in the SET context. Furthermore, fostering a match in task goals between a teacher and student improves ratings of teacher competence.

Data availability statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee, James Cook University, Australia (Ref. H7563). The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

CK contributed to the conception and design of the study, data collection, data analysis, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SS contributed to the manuscript preparation, provided advice on the design of the study and statistical methods. All authors contributed to the manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.

This research publication was funded by the Internal Research Fund, James Cook University, Singapore.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank the participants who have participated in this research. The authors express sincere gratitude to the two examiners for review and feedback on the thesis version of the manuscript.

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Lau, Hon-wah. "Factors that motivate teachers in government secondary schools." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1992. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B13890979.

Chambers, Dyna M. "Elementary School Teacher Perceptions of Factors Influencing Teacher Morale." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1582.

Mollway, Mary Frances. "Administrators' and Teachers' Perceptions of Factors Influencing Veteran Teachers' Professional Practice." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6625.

Mbatha, Nomusa Nonkazimuto. "Factors influencing levels of teacher motivation at schools in Uthungulu District." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1611.

Lau, Hon-wah, and 劉漢華. "Factors that motivate teachers in government secondary schools." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1992. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31956105.

Zafar, Khan Sarah. "Factors affecting the motivation of expatriate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in the Sultanate of Oman." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3364.

Jennings, Michael J. "Motivational factors related to teacher transfers." abstract and full text PDF (free order & download UNR users only), 2007. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3258838.

O'Keeffe-Foley, Joan. "Improving Professional Development: A Mixed Methods Study of Teacher Motivation Through Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors." Thesis, Manhattanville College, 2020. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=27540180.

Aknouche, Amina. "The Positive Factors of Working as an English Teacher." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-29792.

Bullock, Naomi J. "Factors Affecting Student Motivation and Achievement in Science in Selected Middle School Eighth Grade Classes." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 2017. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cauetds/63.

Poyner, Nefertiti Bruce. "Factors That Contribute to Resilience of Early Care and Education Teachers." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2620.

Tkachyk, Leon Michael. "Perceptions of International Teacher Turnover in East Asia Regional Council of Schools." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4568.

Kiser, Heather W. Gallagher Kathleen Cranley. "The NAEYC classroom portfolio process examining the relationship between demographic characteristics and external factors that support teacher motivation /." Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008. http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/etd,2080.

Chibisa, Zviedzo. "The relationship between motivational factors and teachers’ job satisfaction." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1556.

Matti, Nuha. "Lärarens syn kring elevers motivation till matematiken." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för utbildning, kultur och kommunikation, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-25629.

Hogan, Kathleen Ann. "Alternative Certification: A Comparison of Factors Affecting the Motivations of General and Special Educators." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2010. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc30467/.

Silveira, William Soares. "Motivação do professor como ferramenta alavancadora da qualidade do ensino." Universidade do Oeste Paulista, 2012. http://bdtd.unoeste.br:8080/tede/handle/tede/119.

Al-Waaili, Mahmoud. "iEARN facilitators' perceptions of roles, motivating and inhibiting factors." Thesis, University of Leeds (United Kingdom), 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1524882.

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of iEARN online facilitators with regards to successful online facilitator’s roles and their current practice roles. Additionally, the study also attempted to identify the 5 top motivating and inhibiting factors that influence iEARN facilitators’ roles and affect their performance. The study revealed that iEARN facilitators generally possess a relatively high perception of the successful online facilitator roles. The results of the quantitative questionnaire used to collect data from 35 subjects also demonstrate that iEARN facilitators’ perception of their current practice of the successful roles do not match with their perceptions of successful facilitator roles. Moreover, the results also showed that iEARN facilitators view intrinsic incentives as the top motivating factors that influence their performance. The study also revealed the 5 top inhibiting factors as per the subjects of the study. This dissertation has helped to bridge the gap between what iEARN facilitators view as successful roles and what they actually do in reality along with the most influential motivating and inhibiting factors.

Banfield, Mara L. "The Effects of Motivational Factors on Student Achievement in STEM." Youngstown State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1588853831612102.

Ip, Ming-ho. "A study of the factors that motivate academic masters in Hong Kong secondary school." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1995. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B1470996X.

Lung, King-kwong. "The motivation factors and job satisfaction of physical education teachers in Hong Kong aided secondary schools." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1997. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B18939399.

Kamstra, Rixt. "Factors which influence the job satisfaction of female educators in secondary schools / Rixt Kamstra." Thesis, North-West University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/797.

Rawley, Jo Ann K. "Factors perceived to contribute to mathematics avoidance or mathematics confidence in non-traditional age women attending a community college." [Tampa, Fla.] : University of South Florida, 2007. http://purl.fcla.edu/usf/dc/et/SFE0002047.

Levesley-Evans, Elizabeth Mary. "Factors that motivate teachers to participate in professional development." Thesis, McGill University, 1988. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=61818.

Au, Yeung Yu-shing Kennedy, and 歐陽汝城. "Factors affecting the work motivation of middle managers in school: a case study." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B30138061.

Hammad, Mahbuba. "FACTORS INFLUENCING ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION TOWARD READING ARABIC: THE IMPACT OF LEVELED READING ON THE EXPERIENCES OF LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND TEACHERS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/607.

Brown, Adam Joseph. "Factors that Contribute to Motivation and Burnout among Teachers of Students with Emotional Behavioral Disorders." W&M ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1530192557.

Norvaišienė, Laima. "Ikimokyklinių įstaigų pedagogų karjerą įtakojančių veiksnių vertinimas." Master's thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2010. http://vddb.laba.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2010~D_20100903_180848-03533.

Morgan, Christine. "The applicability of Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation to teacher productivity with special reference to Jamaica." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1988. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/3615.

Worley, Catherine Lynn. "At-Risk Students and Academic Achievement: The Relationship Between Certain Selected Factors and Academic Success." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/28037.

Nelson, LIsa V. "International Service Learning: Program Elements Linked to Learning Outcomes, and Six Participant Motivation Factors Revealed." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1418671274.

Lung, King-kwong, and 龍景光. "The motivation factors and job satisfaction of physical education teachers in Hong Kong aided secondary schools." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1997. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31959696.

Wu, Zhenzhen, and 吴真真. "Factors that motivate teachers in profit-making schools." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B50177175.

Galijotaitė, Vita. "Motyvacija kūno kultūros pamokose: mokytojo ir mokinių panašumai ir skirtumai." Bachelor's thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2013. http://vddb.laba.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2013~D_20130906_093622-03074.

Lapinskaitė, Aušra. "Pedagogų motyvaciją sąlygojantys veiksniai bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose." Master's thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2009. http://vddb.library.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2009~D_20090629_131147-66849.

Ellis, John Alfred. "The factors that motivate teachers and administrative staff in an educational institution." Thesis, Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1987. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B18036995.

Ip, Ming-ho, and 葉明浩. "A study of the factors that motivate academic masters in Hong Kong secondary school." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1995. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31957870.

Kieft, Geke. "Factoren die de werktevredenheid van de vrouwelijke onderwijzer in de primaire school beïnvloeden / door Geke Kieft." Thesis, North-West University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/919.

Horton, Amy B. Mrs. "A Phenomenological Study on the Motivating Factors Influencing Participation in Tennessee’s Governor’s Academy for School Leadership." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3276.

Heisinger, Dolores Adan. "Factors That Motivate Washington State Teachers to Participate in Professional Growth and Development." PDXScholar, 1994. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4753.

Smedberg, Erik, and Ingvarsson Felix Niemelä. "Den svenska skolans personal : En kvalitativ studie." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för textil, teknik och ekonomi, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-23838.

Hennefer, Mindi. "Intrinsic Classroom Teacher Motivation." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5473.

Williams, Willie E. "Principal Leadership Style, Teacher Motivation, and Teacher Retention." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6148.

Hill, Krystal A. "Teacher Participation and Motivation inProfessional Development." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2015. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5718.

Thayne, Shelby Werner. "Facilitating Language Learner Motivation: Teacher Motivational Practice and Teacher Motivational Training." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2013. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4026.

Foutch, Dustin R. "Teacher Perceptions of PERA| Influences on Teacher Morale, Satisfaction, and Motivation." Thesis, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10268172.

This is a qualitative phenomenological study that examines teacher perceptions of the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA). The purpose of this research was to analyze how educators’ perceptions of PERA influenced their workplace satisfaction and willingness to grow and improve. The study explores PERA in the context of neoliberal reform ideology and also through the lens of self-determination theory. Fourteen teachers from Central and Southern Illinois were interviewed and PERA, like other neoliberal education reforms, was shown to have a demotivating influence on the profession.

Jones, Laurie Ann Talbert Tony L. "Passionate teacher/virtuous teaching : exploring the relationship between teacher passion, teacher calling, and character education /." Waco, Tex. : Baylor University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2104/4202.

Hanlon, Megan. "Teacher and Student Motivation in the Classroom." Thesis, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3702667.

Kovach, John C. "Teacher motivation in a South African school." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003675.

Shalter, Bruening Paige. "Pre-Service Teacher Beliefs about Student Motivation." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275444054.

Lazy? Anxious? Overlooked? Teachers Sound Off on Unmotivated Students

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Labeling students who don’t do their work and seem unmotivated as “lazy” has transcended generations in the classroom. As time has gone on, and social science research has gotten more advanced, it’s clear that there’s many factors at play. Technological advancement, a pandemic, and an educational system under stress have only further complicated the question of what drives student apathy.

In a recent EdWeek Opinion piece , Kyle Coppes, a secondary school principal at an international school in Germany, wrote about the nuances of “student laziness.” In response to the article, many teachers felt inspired to share their own opinions on the topic. Some agreed that what seems like laziness is often a symptom of another problem; others insist that sometimes, students just don’t put in the effort that’s needed.

Here’s a collection of the most popular themes from what they had to say.

The success of classrooms reflects the system ...

“as an educational psychologist, i strongly agree but it is not the fault of the teacher. schools are a mirror of society.”, “the education system—or at least where i teach—is primarily responsible for creating the lazy child. maybe lazy isn’t the word we need to be looking at, but rather the unmotivated child.”, “i appreciate the philosophy brought into the argument. furthermore, i very much want to believe the idea here, but this requires a much more practical follow-up question: if the reason students appear lazy, but are not, is that educators are not addressing other issues, how are administrators, school boards, and others in charge of school policy going to change to allow students to get their needs met”, “what if this apathy is a result of the school system itself”, the issue is nuanced, “i can understand my students are avoiding the content by doing many of the things they are doing. i can understand why they are avoiding the content, because they avoided the content during covid and now can’t handle the content before them.”, “i agree there’s usually reasons behind behaviors that appear to be “laziness.” unfortunately, many of the times the classroom teacher has little to no control over many of the factors contributing to that ... family issues, lack of food at home, student mental health problems, etc. this is why student support in terms of counselors, psychologists, and social workers are needed.”.

Gabrielle M.

“You only have to listen, as students tend to know it’s self-inflicted sleep deprivation from texting, surfing, online games, and chats. They start their homework after midnight—2 a.m., and then have to get up at 7-8 a.m. to make it to school. All this from a group that needs more quality sleep than almost any other age bracket.”

“always look further into what is going on with your students. don’t ever just label them lazy and move on—just like i always try and look when the behavior is defiant—99% of the time the kid is crying for help, attention, love, etc. ... i am not doing my students justice to just label them defiant and move on—however—in this case, there is still that 1 percent that is just downright defiant because they want to be …. “, “i totally agree with this. and honestly the first person to tell you kids are lazy are the kids themselves. it’s the only 4 letter word totally banned in my classroom. there is a reason behind their lack of motivation. uncover the reason, address the problem, work gets done. i have spent a lot of my career with kids with school anxiety and avoidance. a lot of teachers just don’t get it.”, “it is true that knowing one’s students, truly knowing them, helps immensely. but there are some factors at work right now that are totally student laziness.”, “it’s not about blame—mindset is the invisible aspect of teaching practice that guides how we respond to students and how they see us. when we label, even subconsciously, a student, they know it —when we bypass the inactions and speak to the ‘function of their behavior’ we can actually move mountains.”, do principals understand what teachers face, “i’m curious how long this principal was a teacher. we are seeing less and less time in the classroom from administrators. experience doesn’t mean expertise but it is one of the requirements for it.”, “this person has clearly been out of the classroom for the past 40 years and most likely spends all of their days in their office hiding from actual responsibility.”, “well, i—like most teachers—agree that we educators can suss out the reasons that a student appears “lazy” and provide formative support ... i would have been more impressed if kyle talked about how, as principal, he supports teachers in this endeavor ....”, “this principal will struggle to keep a fully staffed building.”, “i like the overall tone of this but i’m guessing that this administrator has not had to spend much time guiding classrooms lately. there are some systemic things that have been put in place in many school districts where a student can almost never fail ... and then there’s the added element of how something can look like laziness but it’s masquerading a much deeper issue. that’s its own special consideration.”, “as long as perspectives like this continue placing 100% of the responsibility & accountability for learning on teachers, there will continue to be high burnout and turnover rates. another disconnected administrator missing the mark.”, “kids tell me they don’t care. they google the answers right in front of me instead of trying to do the work. he needs to get into the classroom.”, true laziness can be a factor, some teachers insist, “some students find anything that requires any effort nearly impossible to do.”, “i think a better way to put it is don’t assume laziness is the issue right off the bat. explore other reasons why students are avoiding work. but, sometimes, students will admit to me they just feel lazy ... it can happen.”, “i’m a teacher and sometimes i’m lazy, too. i’m human.”, sign up for edweek update, edweek top school jobs.

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