Chapter 8: Sources of Teacher Demotivation

This study focuses on teacher demotivation, which is defined as the specific external causes that reduce the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing action. High school teachers (N = 340) were asked to rank order the 3 factors that demotivated them most as a teacher. Using content analysis, participants’ answers were categorized under 6 categories: Students (S), Economics (E), Administration (A), Parents (P), Structural and Physical Characteristics (SPC), I (Ideals), and Social Status (SS). The results showed that A, SPC, and S were the most frequently cited demotivating factors for the high school teachers.