Incentivate teachers’ professional motivation, to improve the quality of the education system

Abstract

Entering the path already traced by research on teachers, this survey has as
its object of study, in particular, the dimension of professional motivation of
in-service teachers, rather than referring to teachers’ initial choice of the
profession. Through empirical research, oriented to a qualitative approach,
the study aims to find the opinions of teachers on professional motivation
and their proposals for concrete actions designed to stimulate it. National
and international surveys, in fact, have found that motivation is one of the
factors, or teacher traits, that affect the quality of teaching, the educational
relationships established at school, the learning outcomes of students and
their future choices of study and work. These surveys have also highlighted
the existence of a silent fringe of unmotivated teachers. The OECD has
compiled a list of proposals for interventions, aimed at improving the quality
of teachers and working conditions in schools. Each country is assigned
the responsibility to implement these proposals, in the reality of their own
school policy. This research aspires to be a modest contribution to the
knowledge of the world of education, useful for policy makers, from the
perspective of those who live it every day on the front line.