Motivations for choosing teaching as a career and development in the profession: A multicohort longitudinal study of beginning teachers

The research addresses problems of recruitment and retention in the current climate of teacher shortages. It will establish profiles of motivations for career choice at teaching degree entry, trace changes in perceived competencies and professional commitment from degree exit through to early professional experiences, and identify factors and contextual processes conducive to or inhibitory of retention. This agenda is interdisciplinary, involves complementary methods, multiple cohorts from five institutions across two nations, within a strong longitudinal design.