‘Not only satisfied and responsible, but also hopeful’: prospective teachers’ career choice satisfaction, hope, and personal responsibility

The present study aimed to examine the relationships between prospective teachers’ career choice satisfaction, hope, and sense of personal responsibility, with the intention of exploring the mediating role of hope in the relationship between career choice satisfaction and sense of personal responsibility. A total of 563 prospective teachers voluntarily participated in the study. Results showed that the prospective teachers’ career choice satisfaction, hope, and sense of personal responsibility for student motivation, achievement, relationships with students, and teaching were positively and significantly related to each other. Results also showed that the mediating roles of hope in the relationships between career choice satisfaction and four aspects of personal responsibility were reasonably important. Overall, results of the present study suggest that the prospective teachers’ sense of personal responsibility should be considered together with their career choice satisfaction and hope during teacher education.