What drives teachers to teach electronics at a two-year technical college? A self-determination theory perspective

Two-year technical colleges are post-secondary educational institutions that provide practical training in diverse fields of engineering. Given the central role of teachers in the learning process, the study described in the paper characterized the factors driving in-service teachers to teach electronics at a leading two-year college in Israel. The study, which made use of quantitative and qualitative tools, found that the teachers are primarily motivated by their interest in teaching (intrinsic motivation) and by the recognition of its inherent value (identified regulation). According to self-determination theory, these findings could be explained by the fulfillment of the three basic needs (the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in most of the teachers. Comparison of the results to the distribution of motivational factors in electronics students studying at the same college reveals a significant gap between the intrinsic motivation of the two groups. This gap, in favor of the teachers, indicates a relatively low level of perceived autonomy among the students.