Who Chooses Teacher Education and Why? Evidence From Germany

Abstract

Empirically rigorous research on teacher education entry is extremely limited. Evidence on who enters teacher education and why is crucial for identifying undesired gaps in entry and can assist with teacher recruitment. Grounded in prior research, we identified four primary groups of relevant individual-level variables: student/family background, achievement/abilities, personality, and motivation. We empirically tested this conceptual model using rich data from a national cohort of German ninth-graders followed to college/university and their parents. Our study is the first to predict eventual teacher education entry early in secondary school. Although those students who eventually entered teacher education were significantly different from their counterparts across most variables, fewer were conditionally predictive. Social interests, desired working conditions, desire to have children, and students’ parents were particularly influential. Implications for research and teacher recruitment are discussed.