Motives for Enrolment in the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences and the Reasons for their Change (Comparative Study)
Authors: Žygaitienė Birutė , Pošiūnaitė Kristina 
Published: August 2020

Relevance. The number of scientists explored the motives of entrants to choose teacher’s profession noted, that now selection of pedagogical studies does not reflect future teachers’ pedagogical directivity, the motivation is small of future teachers’ to work pedagogical job. It is also noted, that enrolling graduates pay more attention to financial costs of studying or financial perspectives of interested specialty delegate.

The research discloses future teachers’ motives for enrolling into pedagogical studies.

The research focuses on the problem that motives for enrolling into pedagogical studies are still insufficiently investigated.

The aim of the research is to reveal the motives for enrolling into the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences and their changes.

The objectives of the research are as follows:

1. To identify the main motives for enrolling into pedagogical studies;

2. To compare the motives for enrolling into pedagogical studies of students who entered the university in different academic years (in 2002, 2010 and 2011 years).

The empirical method was applied in the research which was carried out in three different faculties (those of Natural Sciences, Philology, and Mathematics and Informatics) of the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences in 2010–2011. The research sample included the answers of 270 first-year students.

Questionnaire was prepared in order to analyze motives of first year entrants to Lithuanian Educational University and to compare it with results of 2000–2002 year study. 48 motives were presented in questionnaire and each of them had to be evaluated according significance. Motives were selected based on analysis of relevant literature and the structure of 2000–2002 study questionnaire. Main motives, mostly mentioned in scientific literature for choosing teachers profession, were distinguished in this study.

The research findings reveal that, in 2010 and 2011, the main motives for the informants to choose pedagogical studies were their intention to acquire a diploma of higher education, a possibility to get a better-paid job, and career aspirations. Comparison of the data of the year 2002 and of 2010–2011 shows that in 2002 the choice of pedagogical studies (in the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences) was determined mainly by students’ extrinsic motivation – intention to acquire a diploma of higher education and to improve their financial situation as well as the social image. Similar motives were identified in 2010, when the main motives included a wish to acquire a diploma of higher education (though this motive was 20 percent weaker then), a possibility to get a better paid job, and career aspirations. Both in 2002 and in 2010 the same number of the informants mentioned their intrinsic motivation – aspiration to become a teacher as an important motive, and in 2011, however, the majority of the first-year students (72.9 %) did not consider becoming a teacher as important. The significance of such a motive as pedagogical love  for children also decreased. This reveals a lack of professional purposefulness and that unmotivated students are admitted to pedagogical studies.