Teacher motivation in stricto sensu postgraduation: an analysis based on self-determination theory

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the motivational factors that lead accounting sciences professors to teach on stricto sensu postgraduate courses, based on self-determination theory. Research on motivation in education in the area of accounting sciences mostly concerns student motivation. Thus, there are few studies related to teacher motivation, especially in the area of accounting sciences and in stricto sensu postgraduate programs. Teacher motivation is directly linked to the teaching-learning process and student motivation, so it is important to identify what motivates these teachers and, given this, to act in a way that the motivation, or lack of it, will not interfere with the quality of teaching. The importance of teachers in the quality of education is indisputable and inevitably relates to the motivation to remain in the teaching career, taking both personal and professional aspects into account. The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers was applied and answered by 108 professors from the 33 stricto sensu postgraduate programs in the area of accounting sciences. The data were analyzed in an aggregated way, using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney and chi-squared tests, with the purpose of assessing the relationship between levels of motivation and age group, time teaching, and time teaching in the stricto sensu postgraduate course. Most of the professors analyzed are extrinsically motivated via identified regulation; however this is less related to access to financial resources and more linked to the prestige that teaching on the stricto sensu postgraduate course brings. Also, the overall mean of the dimensions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation was shown to be higher for teachers of the female gender and who work in private institutions.