Why Teachers Must Become Change Agents

TLDR

Teaching is fundamentally a moral profession, yet teachers cite diverse motives beyond the moral purpose. The Faculty of Education, University of Toronto conducted a study on teachers’ motivations. Among 220 student teachers sampled, the predominant motivation was to make a difference in students’ lives, a finding supported by the data.

Abstract

Teaching at its core is a moral profession. Scratch a good teacher and you will find a moral purpose. At the Faculty of Education, University of Toronto, we recently examined why people enter the teaching profession (Stiegelbauer 1992). In a random sample of 20 percent of 1,100 student teachers, the most frequently mentioned theme was make a difference in the lives of students. Of course, such statements cannot be taken at face value because people have a variety of motives for becoming teachers. Nonetheless, there is a strong kernel of truth to this conclusion.