Moroccan foreign language students’ views of a career in teaching

Abstract

This study explored the views of 203 university students studying English or French at a University in Morocco about a career in teaching. The students completed a questionnaire in which they were asked to rate the importance of 20 factors influencing their choice of career, and then the extent to which they thought teaching offered these factors. The factors rated highest by students as ‘very important’ in their choice of career were: ‘a job that is respected’; ‘a job that I will find enjoyable’; and ‘a job where I am required to use my intellect’. Interestingly, ‘a job that is respected’ was also rated very highly as being a factor that ‘teaching definitely offers’. Students most highly rated ‘my wish to share my knowledge with others’ as the factor that might influence an individual’s decision to become a teacher. Finally, when asked about changes to the profession that might encourage more people to consider it, the highest rated measure was ‘an improvement in the quality of materials, resources and facilities for teaching’. The findings support a model of career choice based on a match between factors the students consider important in a job and whether they perceive these factors are offered by the career in question.