Motivation for and Challenges in Teacher Research in Underdeveloped Areas of Northwest China: An Exploratory Study

This study explored the motivations and challenges vocational teachers (VTs) face in conducting research in underdeveloped regions of Northwest China. We invited 49 vocational teachers from Qinghai province to participate in the questionnaire survey, with their motivation measured using scale items and their challenges measured using open-ended questions. After data collection, latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to explore the participants’ motivational profiles, and three types were identified, i.e., high autonomous and controlled motivation, high autonomous and low controlled motivation, and low autonomous motivation. In addition, we conducted a qualitative analysis of the challenges in teacher research. As a result, five categories of challenges that might hinder Chinese vocational teachers in conducting research were observed (i.e., researcher identity, research knowledge and skills, research climate in schools, workload and family care, and resources and financial support). Teachers with the profile of highly autonomous and controlled motivation were more likely to face challenges related to a lack of resources and financial support and the research climate. Workload and family care appeared to be significant challenges for teachers with the profile of highly autonomous but less controlled motivation. In contrast, a lack of research knowledge and skills was a common perceived challenge across all profiles. These results suggest that although vocational teachers express relatively high motivation in conducting research, the significance of institutional development programmes and external research support for research activities remains crucial.