Is the motivation to become a teacher related to pre‐service teachers’ intentions to remain in the profession?

This study investigated 198 pre-service teachers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for becoming teachers and focused on the distinction between adaptive motives, which promote lasting and effective engagement, and maladaptive motives, which promote superficial engagement. We examined the relationships with teacher self-efficacy, the quality of the teacher training programme, classroom teaching experiences and the time pre-service teachers expect to spend in the profession. The analyses indicated that female pre-service teachers and pre-service teachers with higher prior ability showed more intrinsic adaptive motives. Intrinsic adaptive motives were positively related to the quality of the teacher training programme and the classroom teaching experiences. Pre-service teachers with positive teaching experiences indicated greater teacher self-efficacy. Pre-service teachers with extrinsic maladaptive motives indicated having had negative teaching experiences and they intended to remain in the profession for shorter periods. Teacher self-efficacy was positively related to the amount of time pre-service teachers intended to remain in the profession.