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Article

Parental Perceptions of the Teaching Profession: Factors That Predict Parental Encouragement of Students to Enter the Teaching Profession

by
Steven Christensen
,
Randall S Davies
*,
Ross A. A. Larsen
,
Scott Harris
,
Joseph Hanks
and
Bryan Bowles
McKay School of Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(11), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110734
Submission received: 16 September 2022 / Revised: 12 October 2022 / Accepted: 19 October 2022 / Published: 22 October 2022
Browse Figure
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

:
This study examines factors that influence parent’s willingness to encourage their children to consider teaching as a career. Using structural equation modeling, we identified four factors that are highly predictive of a parent’s willingness to encourage their children to consider teaching and their belief that teaching would be their best career option. Results indicated that parents were more likely to encourage their children to become teachers when people outside the family had encouraged the children to teach, if the parents believed their child would be a good teacher, and if parents thought that expectations placed on teachers were reasonable. Results also showed, however, that when considering other professions, parents were much less likely to encourage their children to become teachers in favor of other professions.

1. Introduction

Choosing a career can be difficult for some young people. Research on this topic has found that factors associated with the family context can have an important influence [1,2,3,4,5]. Many of these studies have specifically explored the connection between parental support and career choice [6,7,8].
The issue of career choice is especially important in the teaching profession. For some time, schools in the United States have struggled to maintain its workforce [9,10,11,12]. The K-12 student enrollments continue to increase while, at the same time, few individuals are entering the teaching profession [13]. Some researchers anticipate the teacher shortage to persist for the foreseeable future [14,15].
Further evidence of a teacher shortage is found by analyzing the enrollment trends at college and university teacher education programs as those programs prepare the majority of individuals for teaching. Enrollments in such programs has declined by 30% between 2010 and 2014, resulting in fewer qualified teachers [16]. To make matters worse, it is estimated that between a quarter and one half of teacher preparation program graduates do not end up teaching [17]. In addition, education policies that are designed to lower the number of students per teacher, while well-intentioned, have the unintended consequence of increasing the demand for teachers.
The issues associated with teacher recruitment and retention are complex. However, one potential solution is to leverage the influence parents have over their children in order to increase the number of students entering teacher preparation programs. This study was conducted to better understand the factors that influence a parent’s willingness to encourage a child to become a teacher. Christensen et al. [18], found that parental encouragement for juniors and seniors in high school was found to be predictive of whether those students would consider teaching as a career. It was found that encouragement from others, especially their parents, might have a direct and significant impact on the career choices made by young people.
This study is part of a larger teacher retention and recruitment study with students, teachers, school administrators, and parents in a sampling of school districts across the state of Utah. The larger study was designed to examine factors believed to have an effect on recruiting new teachers into the profession and retaining current teachers who would otherwise likely leave the profession. The research questions addressed in this paper explored the issue of parental support. They include: (1) what factors predict whether parents will encourage their children to consider becoming a teacher, and (2) which factors predict whether parents believe teaching would be the best career option for their children.

1.1. Summary of Parental Encouragement Research

An abundance of research exists on how a student’s circle of influence, especially from family members, plays a major role in decision making [19,20,21,22,23], but far less is known about the extent to which parents are actively encouraging their children to pursue a career in teaching and why. When it comes to understanding teacher recruitment and retention, most studies target current teachers, asking them questions about their decision to choose teaching as a career. There are also several studies that have explored the general importance of parental support and its effect on career choices and self-efficacy [6,7,8]. For example, one study found that children’s perceptions of parental support predicted self-efficacy in science [24]. Gushue and Whitson [25], in research done on young people’s perception of parental support, found that the perceived support correlated positively with career self-efficacy. Researchers also found that high school and college students who indicated that they received support and encouragement from their parents had a direct and positive impact on their career interests and choices [26]. Few parental influence studies have been focused on the topic of teacher recruitment. However, one study [18] found that high school students were more likely to consider teaching as a career if they believed they would be good at teaching (i.e., they had high self-efficacy for teaching).
In addition to the focus of these studies, it is important to note that most research on this topic attempts to identify factors that individuals considered when making career choices; they do not address the degree to which these factors tended to be predictive of someone’s willingness to pursue a specific career. In addition, it is one thing to identify the factors a person considered when making their choices, but understanding which factors are most influential is potentially more important. For example, understanding which factors influence a parent or guardian’s potential support for their child to enter teaching.
As noted, many factors have been identified in the teacher recruitment literature that individuals consider when deciding whether to enter the teaching profession. Table 1 presents a summarized list. These factors were used in the development of the survey instrument used in this study. While each topic presents one possible influence a parent might consider when choosing to encourage their child to contemplate teaching, the purpose of this study is to identify which are more predictive of their decision to encourage (or not encourage) their children to become teachers. Many of the factors listed in Table 1 are established in the literature from several sources.

1.2. Description of Potential Influential Factors

The following factors, which were summarized in Table 1, were used to create the parental encouragement survey instrument used in this study. Each factor was defined using a general summary of the existing research. Each has been identified as something that might influence a parent’s decision to encourage their child to enter the teaching profession.
Respect for teachers. This issue speaks to the idea that, historically, society views teaching as a well-respected career and that teachers are valued by society. Further, the general public recognizes that the skill set required for teaching is specialized and requires a high level of technical knowledge [36]. It is important to note that while the teaching profession currently enjoys a high social standing, the status of the profession has declined in recent years in some countries and regions [37].
Teacher Compensation. Compensation for teachers has been studied at length over the last several decades [38,39,40,41]. Most research concludes that compensation has been a factor in teacher recruitment and retention. An analysis of these results suggest that increases in remuneration leads to better retention of teachers. In addition, Han et al. [30], suggested that teacher salaries will affect the likelihood that young adults would consider teaching.
Gender. Education is a highly gender-segregated profession [42]. Azman [28] found that many females desired a career that was compatible with motherhood. Other researchers found that the stability and flexibility offered by teaching was conducive to child rearing and made for a suitable career for many women [42,43,44]. In general, and whatever the reason, women are more likely than men to enter teaching [45,46].
Self-efficacy. Christensen et al. [18] conducted a study of high school students to discover factors that would predict whether the students would consider the teaching profession. The results showed that the leading factor for considering teaching was whether the student felt that they would be a good teacher. It could be that a parent may consider whether they think their child would be good at teaching and might predict their willingness to encourage their child to consider teaching.
Teacher’s Lifestyle. This refers to a teacher’s lifestyle both outside and in the classroom. For example, several studies showed that achieving a balance between work and family commitments, being ability to fit teaching into an individual’s life, and having a flexible working hours and holidays are important [47,48,49,50,51].
Working Conditions. Several studies have shown that working conditions encountered by teachers have a direct effect on both recruitment and retention. Johnson and Birkeland [52] found that teachers were more likely to leave the profession if they did not receive adequate support or resources to be successful. Ingersoll [53] found that teachers who reported greater autonomy in the classroom and stronger administrative support had lower levels of attrition. Kelly [54] noted that the behavioral climates of the schools were at least part of the reason teachers left the profession. Mentoring and on-boarding programs for new teachers were also found to be a factor [55]. Issues involving job security, general working conditions, and income have been shown as factors that influence a person’s decision to consider teaching and persist as a teacher [1,50,56,57,58].
Encouragement from Others. Extensive research on how those within a social circle influence career choices has been conducted [50,59,60,61,62]. Perhaps most the influential social circle factor these studies determined were important was a child’s parents; however, other family members can also have a strong influence. Individuals at a student’s school, such as coaches and teachers, have been shown to have an influence over the student’s perceptions and behaviors. A student’s peers and friends can also directly influence their career choices.
Previous Teaching Experience. The idea that a parent has previous teaching experience, is currently a teacher, or has a family member that is a teacher was thought to have some potential predictive quality. Someone who is highly experienced in the field would, theoretically, have direct experience and opinions about the profession. Some studies [34,35,63] reported that parents experience with their own career affect their encouragement and the advice they give their children. As such, current or previous teaching experience was added as a factor to the survey instrument.
Parent’s Education Level. Some studies suggest that a parent’s socio economic conditions and education attained affect their perspective of what an adequate profession for their children might be [64,65,66,67]. We speculated that the parents education might affect a parent’s willingness to encourage their child to consider teaching.

2. Methods

In this study we surveyed the parents of school-aged children to determine their perception of the teaching profession. Then, using structural equation modeling, we identified which factors best predicted whether parents would encourage their children to consider becoming a teacher and whether they felt that teaching was the best career option for their children. These two questions are considered connected, but different. A parent’s willingness to have their child consider teaching is not the same as feeling teaching might be the best career option for them.

2.1. Data Collection Instrument

Survey items were developed, tested, and refined for each of the factors listed in Table 1 following a process recommended by Creswell [68]. In the survey design process items were validated using a cognitive think aloud process then pilot testing to verify that items did in fact capture the essence of the factors of interest. A 6-point Likert scale was used to capture respondents’ answers. The result was a survey instrument that could help aggregate parents’ perceptions of the teaching profession and provide possible predictors of parents’ willingness to encourage their children to become teachers. The final version of the survey was approved by each of the participating school districts prior to administration based on the Institutional Review Board protocols. The final instrument consisted of 16 items. The specific items are provided in Table 2 and Table 3.

2.2. Participants

Parents with school-aged children at 41 K-12 school districts across the state of Utah were selected to participate in this study. Of the 41 districts, nine agreed to allow us to send anonymous surveys to the parents within the districts. Several of the districts allowed us to survey administrators and teachers, but not parents and students. The nine participating districts came from both rural and urban settings across the state of Utah, providing diverse coverage of the state. In total, 495 parents responded to the survey, which was administered in the spring of 2018. The participating school districts sent the survey instrument and an invitation to participate to all parents with email addresses on record. The response rate is unknown as the schools did not make available the total number of surveys that were sent out. Invitations to complete the anonymous online questionnaire, following Institutional Review Board approval requirements, were sent to all the parents in the nine participating school districts by district personnel using their email system.

2.3. Analytic Approach

Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multiple regression analysis. The EFA was run to identify factors that are supported by the survey responses. Next, the CFA was run to test the factor structure. Where necessary, adjustments were made to attain an acceptable fit for the model. Finally, the hypothesized regression analysis was tested. For example, in order to achieve an acceptable model fit one item, “You need to have a certain personality to be a teacher,” was excluded. The model was derived using the Mplus statistical software program. Assumptions for running the models (linearity, multivariate normality, and lack of outliers) were checked using a variety of diagnostic procedures, including histograms and scatterplots, utilizing SPSS. All assumptions were found to have been met. Missing data was examined and determined to be missing at random. Maximum likelihood estimation methods were used in each analysis.
Model fit was tested using several standardized fit statistics: the root mean square error of approximation [69], the comparative fit index [70], and the standardized root mean square residual [71]. A model that has good fit is indicated by an RMSEA less than 0.06, a CFI at or above 0.90, and an SRMR that is less than 0.08 [72]. The analysis yielded a model with strong fit statistics. The RMSEA for the model was 0.042; less than the 0.06 maximum. The CFI for the model was 0.958, which is above the anticipated 0.9 requirement. The SRMR was 0.042; a score well below the maximum figure of 0.08 for good fit.

3. Results

3.1. CFA Results

In order to answer the research questions posed in this study, the appropriateness of the survey instrument to measure the constructs of interest was established. The CFA results indicated two separate perception factors: respect for the teachers and expectations of teachers. Table 2 presents the results for the respect construct and Table 3 presents the results for the teacher expectations construct.
As depicted in Table 2, three items loaded on the first factor in the CFA results. This factor is known as the respect factor because the items all address issues related to a respondent’s belief that teachers are well respected.
Table 3 presents the item loadings for the second construct found as a result of the CFA. Six items loaded on this factor and, collectively, were labeled as the teacher expectations factor. This factor gives a measure of the parents’ perception of the expectations, work conditions, and lifestyle of teachers.
Figure 1 depicts the results of the CFA analysis. Squares indicate the items from the survey and circles represent the two factors found in the CFA. The factor loadings and correlations among factors are based on a sample of 495 parents who responded to the survey. This result provide evidence that the parent’s perception of these two constructs (as measured by these items) can be used with confidence in the regression analysis.

3.2. Multiple Regression Analysis Results

Two items were used as dependent variables for the multiple regression analysis: “I have encouraged my children to become teachers” and “I believe my children would be better off not working as teachers.” The results of the multiple regression analysis on the predictors are presented in Table 4 and Table 5.
Table 4 presents the multiple regression analysis for the dependent variable “I have encouraged my children to become teachers.” All variables were included in the analysis and, in the presence of all variables, three were found to be statistically significant: the teacher expectations factor that was discovered during the CFA process, and two individual survey items; the first being “people outside my family have encouraged my children to become teachers,” and the second, “I think teaching is something my children would be good at.”
The strongest predictor of a parents willingness to encourage their child to consider teaching as a career is whether they feel others also have encouraged their child to consider teaching. Based on the result presented in Table 4, for every one unit of increase in encouragement from people outside the family, the dependent variable increases by 0.503 units and has a standardized beta of 0.455. Two additional influential predictors of a parental encouragement was whether the parents thought their children would be good at teaching and the parents perception of teacher expectations. This however, is only an indicator of whether the parent would encourage their child to consider teaching not whether they felt teaching was the best career choice for their child.
Table 5 presents the results of the multiple regression analysis for the second dependent variable: I believe my child would be better off in a career other than teaching. All variables were included in the analysis and, in the presence of all variables, four were found to be predictive of this dependent variable. Although still important, regardless of whether others have encouraged their child to consider teaching, the strongest predictor of this variable, based on the standardized beta values, was the parent’s belief that their child would be a good teacher. If they did not believe their child had the aptitude for teaching, they were more likely to indicate their child had better career option than teaching. Additional factors of outside encouragement, as well as the parent’s perception of teacher expectations and respect also had predictive influence for this variable.

4. Discussion

4.1. Significant Factors That Predict Parental Encouragement to Consider Teaching

The following is a discussion of the results of the survey related to the first of the two research questions: Which factors predict whether parents will encourage their children to consider becoming a teacher? In general, parents are more likely to encourage their child to consider a career in teaching if others have encouraged their child to teach, they feel their child has an aptitude to teach, and they have a positive perception regarding the expectations placed on teachers in the workplace.
Encouragement from Others. The results of the survey and statistical analysis as depicted in Table 4 show that when people outside the family encourage children to teach their parents are more likely to encourage their children to consider teaching as a career. As parents hear from others that their children might be good at teaching there appears to be some peer pressure in also assuming that their children should at least consider teaching as a potential career. Further, it seems likely that recruiting qualified individuals into the teaching profession could benefit from a concerted effort from those within students’ social circles, including teachers, guidance counselors, and others, to identify potential high-quality candidates and not only encourage them to consider teaching but to also inform their parents.
Parent Perceptions of Their Children’s Ability to Teach. The perception that an individual’s child had an aptitude for teaching was also found to be a significant predictor of whether they would encourage their child to consider teaching. Parents who think their children would be good at teaching were more likely to encourage them to consider teaching. This result suggests that parents want their children to consider professions (in this case teaching) at which they would be successful. This also supports the research found by Christensen et.al. (2019) that showed high school students were more likely to consider teaching as a career if they thought they would be good at it.
Teacher Expectations. According to the results presented in Table 4, how the parents perceive the expectations placed on teachers is a significant predictor of whether parents would encourage their children to consider teaching. As the expectations placed on teachers by school and district administration are perceived by parents to be unreasonable, the less likely they are to encourage their children to become teachers. Things like the number of pupils per classroom, general working conditions, sufficiency of resources, teacher pay, and student behavior all contribute to a parent’s willingness to encourage their child to consider entering the teaching profession. This is of concern given that even when a parent feels their child would be a good teacher, they might not encourage them to consider teaching if they believe work conditions for teachers are not adequate.

4.2. Items Not Found to Be Statistically Significant

While individuals may consider many factors before making any decision, the issue of teacher respect was not found to be a significant predictor of whether a parent would encourage their children to consider becoming teachers. The standardized beta of 0.031 shows that it has a relatively small influence when compared to the other factors. Apparently, even though respect for teachers in general has declined greatly (Fray & Gore, 2018), this is not a strongly predictive factor in a parent’s willingness to encourage their child to consider becoming a teacher. However, as Table 5 indicates, it does seem to have a more profound influence in predicting whether parents feel teaching would be a good career for their child, which is discussed further in the next section of this article.
Several items from the survey asked about things that were expected to significantly influence parents’ behavior but, surprisingly, were not. For instance, it was expected that if a survey respondent had ever been a teacher they would have a strong opinion on teaching and strong feelings about whether they would encourage their children to consider teaching, but this was not the case. The survey results showed that it was equally likely that a parent with or without teaching experience would encourage their children to consider teaching.
Another assumption was that as a parent’s level of education would influence their encouragement; that those with more education would want the same, or better, for their children. However, the parent’s level of education did not factor into their propensity to encourage their children to consider teaching.
Lastly, it was anticipated that the gender of the parent might be a significant predictor. Teachers are predominantly female and it was thought that female parents would strongly encourage their children to teach. However, the gender of the parent did not matter as it relates to them encouraging their children to teach. One limitation of this study was not collecting data on the gender of the parent’s children. As has been established in the literature, the teaching profession is predominantly female and knowing the gender of the children could have shown whether parents are more likely to encourage their daughters to teach, as opposed to their sons.

4.3. Factors That Influence Parents Belief That Their Children Have Better Career Options

The previous discussion was centered on whether parents would encourage their children to consider becoming a teacher. This discussion pertains to the second research question: Which factors predict whether parents believe teaching would be the best career option for their children? Table 5 shows which factors were influential in predicting a parent’s belief that there are better options than teaching for their children. Even though a parent may be willing to have their child consider teaching, they may not believe that their child should become a teacher. They may believe their child has better options. In general, a parent’s belief as to whether teaching is their child’s best career option is primarily influenced by their perception of the child’s potential to be a good teacher and whether others have encourage their child to become a teacher. In addition, the parent’s perception of work conditions for teachers and the respect teachers have in the community were also found to be important.
Parent Perceptions on Their Children’s Ability to Teach. A parent may believe that their child would be good at teaching, but they may also think that their child would be good at, or even better at, other careers. In fact, as parents believe their children would be good at other careers they become less likely to encourage their children to teach, even if they think their children would be good at teaching.
Encouragement from others to Consider Teaching. Table 5 shows that when others encourage children to teach, their parents are more likely to encourage them to become teachers. When considering other career options, the opposite is true. When considering other career options beyond teaching, persons of influence become less likely to encourage young people to become teachers, and are more apt to recommend other professions.
Teacher Expectations. As the perceived expectations of teachers becomes more demanding, parents were more likely to encourage their children to pursue other career options. This does not necessarily mean that parents want their children to select a less demanding profession. More likely, the parent’s attitude, in general, is that there are better career options for the same amount of work involved. This suggests that, when considering other career options, compensation becomes an issue. The assumption is that parents will encourage their children to pursue more lucrative careers if it is believed that the work effort would be similar to that required of teachers.
Respect for Teachers. Whereas the respect factor was not a significant predictor for encouraging their child to consider teaching, it is a significant influence when considering other professions. Parents may consider teachers to be well respected, but it is possible that parents believe other professions are more respectable than teaching. In that case, parents would be inclined to encourage their children to consider other career options.

4.4. Items Not Found to Be Significant

When a parent thinks their child would be better off doing something other than teaching several variables were found to not have significant influence relative to the factors listed above. The gender of the parent responding to the survey did not seem to matter. As previously mentioned, the research shows that many more females than males are teachers, but the gender of the parent had no bearing on their perception that their child would be better off in a different career.
Teaching experience and having a teacher in the family were not a significant predictors either. Anecdotally, individuals with prior teaching experience, when asked, would often say they would never encourage one of their children to become a teacher. However, the survey showed that those with teaching experience were statistically ambivalent, suggesting that for the vocal minority of those who have had negative experiences with teaching, there are many more who are more neutral; or those with negative feelings about teaching based on their experience might overlook that given other factors. In either case, having a teacher in the family did not seem to do anything to persuade or dissuade parents from thinking their children might be better off doing something other than teaching.
Last, the parent’s level of education had no statistical bearing on the results. Parents with all levels of education (high school to doctorate) responded to the survey, but their level of education was not found to be a significant predictor. It was anticipated that the parents would want their children to achieve at least the same level of education, if not more so, but that theory is not reflected in the results

5. Conclusions and Implications

This study has addressed factors that predict whether parents are likely to encourage their children to become teachers and whether parents believe teaching would be the best career option for their children. Specifically related to teaching, parents are more likely to encourage their children to consider teaching if they see that others have encouraged them to teach. In addition, this study shows that parents are more inclined to encourage their children to enter the teaching profession if they think their children would be good at it. In addition, when parents have a positive perception of the expectations of teachers they are more likely to suggest that their children consider teaching.
When considering teaching, parents may have shown some inclination to encourage their children to become teachers, however, when ask if they thought their children had better career options, parents’ perceptions changed slightly. It was shown that even though a parent may be willing to have their child consider teaching, they may not believe that their child should become a teacher; that their child has better options. A parent’s belief that their child has better career options is influenced by their perception of the child’s aptitude for teaching and whether others have encouraged their child to be a teacher. Working conditions and how well respected teachers are also influenced the extent to which a parent thought their child might have better career options.
When working to solve the complex issue of teacher recruitment it is important to not overlook the perceptions parents have of their children’s ability to teach, the extent to which others (parents, other family members, coaches, teachers, mentors, peers, and friends) influence the career choices of young people.
While wide-spread encouragement of young people to consider teaching would be helpful in terms of more people entering the teaching profession, the results of this study indicate that a more focused campaign would be even more effective. It is encouraging to find that parents’ first consideration for believing their child should become a teacher is the child’s aptitude for the profession. However, parents need to be aware of their child’s aptitude for teaching and be encouraged to consider encouraging their child to become a teacher if they would be good at it. The teaching profession does not just need more teachers, it needs good teachers. If people within a child’s circle of influence believe a particular child would make a great teacher, an effective strategy would be to not only encourage that person to become a teacher but to also inform the child’s parents. When parents see teaching potential in their children they are more likely to encourage them to become teachers.
As this study has shown, a parent who believes their child might be good at teaching might not be enough to have them encourage their child to teach. That is due, in part to the parents’ beliefs about the teaching profession. It might be helpful if parents would revise their thinking about the teaching profession. Parents should become informed about the quality of life teachers enjoy, the relatively good working conditions, working hours, and holidays. Then, parents should education their children on those and other aspects of teaching, such as teacher pay, student behavior, and general expectations of teachers in their day-to-day work. All of these facets of teaching should be learned by the parents and then explained to their children through the lens of the child’s potential ability as a teacher.
Encouragement from parents and others could help to increase the numbers of children who will seriously consider teaching as a career and work towards becoming a qualified, licensed teacher. However, this alone will not solve the teacher shortage. Increasing the numbers of new high-quality teachers is just the beginning and will not be enough to ensure an adequate teaching force. The teaching profession needs to also retain teachers. Once a young person has entered the teaching profession and demonstrated an ability to teach, given the trend to disparage the teaching profession, more will need to be done change societal perceptions of the profession and take steps to improve work conditions and general respect for teachers, creating a more desirable work environment.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, S.C., R.S.D., S.H., J.H. and B.B.; Data curation, S.C.; Formal analysis, S.C. and R.A.A.L.; Investigation, S.C. and R.S.D.; Methodology, R.S.D., S.H. and J.H.; Writing—original draft, S.C.; Writing—review and editing, R.S.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of NAME OF INSTITUTE (protocol code XXX and date of approval).” for studies involving humans.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Data can be made available upon request of the authors.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Education 12 00734 g001 550
Figure 1. Standardized parameter estimates for the factor structure of the survey.
Figure 1. Standardized parameter estimates for the factor structure of the survey.
Education 12 00734 g001
Table
Table 1. General Teaching-Related Factors Included in this Analysis Believed to Influence Parental Encouragement of Children to Teach.
Table 1. General Teaching-Related Factors Included in this Analysis Believed to Influence Parental Encouragement of Children to Teach.
FactorSources
Respect for teachers/profession[27,28]
Teacher compensation[29]
Gender[27,28]
Self-efficacy/interest[18]
Teacher’s lifestyle[28,30]
Work conditions for teachers[29]
Encouragement from others[18,31]
Parental education level[32,33]
Previous Teaching Experience[34,35]
Note: Multiple sources and consideration of aspects can be found for each general factor.
Table
Table 2. CFA item loading for the respect factor.
Table 2. CFA item loading for the respect factor.
ItemUnstandardized Factor LoadingStandard ErrorStandardized Factor LoadingCommunality
Teachers are well respected in the community.1.206 **0.1760.84871.9%
People I know are very supportive of teachers.1.000NA0.72252.1%
I respect and support the teachers at my child’s school.0.449 **0.0960.39615.7%
** p < 0.01.
Table
Table 3. CFA item loading for the teacher expectations factor.
Table 3. CFA item loading for the teacher expectations factor.
ItemUnstandardized Factor LoadingStandard ErrorStandardized Factor LoadingCommunality
Expectations of teachers are reasonable (teaching loads, class size, etc.).1.260 **0.0690.85573.1%
Working conditions for teachers are good.1.156 **0.0750.80464.6%
Teachers are provided with needed resources.1.000NA0.70049.0%
Teachers are paid well.0.905 **0.0680.65142.3%
Teachers have a good lifestyle (working hours, holidays, etc.).0.787 **0.0700.57032.5%
Students are well behaved, respect teachers, and care about learning.0.604 **0.0640.49024.0%
** p < 0.01.
Table
Table 4. Multiple regression analysis results of the dependent variable “I have encouraged my children to become teachers,” (R2 = 39.400%, n = 495).
Table 4. Multiple regression analysis results of the dependent variable “I have encouraged my children to become teachers,” (R2 = 39.400%, n = 495).
FactorsUnstandardized BetaStandard ErrorStandardized Beta
People outside my family have encouraged my child to become teachers.0.505 **0.0460.458
I think teaching is something my child would be good at.0.263 **0.0510.213
Teacher Expectations Construct0.210 **0.0770.125
Respect Construct0.0580.0940.031
Previously worked as a teacher0.0080.1240.003
Parent’s Gender (female)−0.0040.131−0.001
Others in your family worked as a teacher−0.0190.107−0.006
Highest degree you achieved in school?−0.0650.054−0.050
** p < 0.01.
Table
Table 5. Multiple regression analysis results of the dependent variable “I believe my children would be better off in a different career,” (R2 = 25.100%, n = 495).
Table 5. Multiple regression analysis results of the dependent variable “I believe my children would be better off in a different career,” (R2 = 25.100%, n = 495).
FactorsUnstandardized BetaStandard ErrorStandardized Beta
Belief that teaching is something my child would be good at.0.285 **0.0620.226
Outside Encouragement for my child to become a teacher.0.245 **0.0570.218
Teacher Expectations Construct0.328 **0.0920.192
Respect Construct0.235 *0.1140.123
Is anyone in your family a teacher?0.1190.1200.039
Parent’s Gender (Female)0.0500.1420.014
Have you worked as a teacher?−0.1580.138−0.053
Highest degree achieved in school?−0.0930.059−0.071
* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.
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Christensen, S.; Davies, R.S.; Larsen, R.A.A.; Harris, S.; Hanks, J.; Bowles, B. Parental Perceptions of the Teaching Profession: Factors That Predict Parental Encouragement of Students to Enter the Teaching Profession. Educ. Sci. 2022, 12, 734. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110734

AMA Style

Christensen S, Davies RS, Larsen RAA, Harris S, Hanks J, Bowles B. Parental Perceptions of the Teaching Profession: Factors That Predict Parental Encouragement of Students to Enter the Teaching Profession. Education Sciences. 2022; 12(11):734. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110734

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Christensen, Steven, Randall S Davies, Ross A. A. Larsen, Scott Harris, Joseph Hanks, and Bryan Bowles. 2022. "Parental Perceptions of the Teaching Profession: Factors That Predict Parental Encouragement of Students to Enter the Teaching Profession" Education Sciences 12, no. 11: 734. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110734

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