Teacher recruitment for high school students: validation of the Erikson teaching identity questionnaire

A review of relevant literature led to the construction of an instrument designed to measure the interest of high school students in pursuing a career in teaching and identify the factors that contribute to adolescents' consideration of teaching as their career, based on Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The psychometric properties of this instrument, the Erikson Teaching Identity Questionnaire (ETIQ), were assessed using a convenience sample of 1,046 high school students (aged 13–18). The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the reliability and validity of the ETIQ, which includes 13 items across five domains: Intention to Teach , Encouragement from Teachers , Discouragement from Teachers , Teacher's Positive Influence , and Teaching Opportunity . Further research is suggested in the iterative process of refining the ETIQ, and the implications of using ETIQ to help school districts implement interventions for teacher recruitment are discussed.