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It is a challenge to recruit vocational education and training (VET) teachers in Norway (Vaag Iversen et al., 2023) and worldwide (OECD, 2023). For society, qualified and motivated teachers are key agents in providing high-quality instruction and teaching, resulting in improved educational outcomes, social equity, and development (Toom et al., 2015). It is essential to examine what motivates pre-service teachers to enter the teaching profession because their motivations are related to professional development, job satisfaction, and commitment (e.g., Goller et al., 2019; OECD, 2023). To date, there is limited quantitative research in the Norwegian VET context regarding what motivates pre-service VET students for their choices. In other European countries, motivations to become teachers are markedly underexplored among VET pre-service teachers (Vilppola et al., 2023) although these teachers play a vital societal role in educating labour forces within industry, construction, trade, and health. Studies from Finland (Goller et al., 2019), Switzerland (Berger & D’Ascoli, 2012) and Sweden (Kristmansson & Fjellström, 2022) have examined motivations to become a VET teacher for example using the FIT-Choice scales. These motivations may be widespread, for instance intrinsic career values, social contributions, and work-life balance. It would be valuable to gain deeper insights into how VET pre-service teachers view the expertise required to be a teacher, the challenges associated with the role, and the task return in terms of salary (Nesje et al., 2018). These aspects are relevant because they reflect which values, aims and practices teachers adopt in their teaching work; thus, contributing to student learning (e.g., Bükki & Fehérvári, 2024). The FitChoice instrument has been used to measure motivation and perceptions among VET pre-service teachers in Finland (Goller et al., 2019), Switzerland (Berger & D’Ascoli, 2012) and Sweden (Kristmansson & Fjellström, 2022). By exploring the same concepts in a Norwegian context, this study contributes further to building a European knowledge base about motivation and perception among VET pre-service teachers. Yet, when it comes to motivation and perception, it is interesting to relate this to study programs, gender, and work situations.
This study has two research questions:
RQ1: How do vocational pre-service teachers perceive the teaching profession, and how do these perceptions differ based on study programs, gender and work situation?
RQ2: What motivates the teachers to pursue a career in teaching, and how do these motivations vary according to study programs, gender and work situation?
In Norway, the Education Act (2023) regulates that a relevant teacher training programme must be completed to be employed in a teacher position. This regulation includes VET teachers. As recruitment of VET teachers might be challenging, it is possible to be appointed as in-service VET teacher under the condition that the teacher training programme is completed. Employment in teaching positions requires relevant qualifications in the vocational subject area.
Norway offers two possible educational trajectories for becoming a VET teacher. There is a Postgraduate Certificate in Education for VET teachers (PPU-y) for those who have a professional bachelor's degree relevant to the educational program they are intend to teach in, or a vocational qualification awarded after completing upper secondary VET, in addition to documented vocational theoretic competence above level 4 in the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and a minimum of two years of professional experience. The other option is a three-year VET teacher bachelor program (YFL) that requires general university and college admissions certification, or recognition of prior learning. In addition, entrance requires a vocational qualification from upper secondary VET and at least two years of relevant practice in the vocation. Both programs qualify to teach in relevant subjects for lower and upper secondary level, grades 8-13.
Methodology
For this study, we conducted a survey with an online questionnaire for Norwegian VET pre-service teachers. The participants are students at one university, attending PPU-y or YFL VET programs. We contacted the teacher educator in charge of the courses. We were invited to the classrooms and presented the questionnaire for the students between 9th of November 2025 and 21st of November 2025. The participants were asked for an informed consent; they took part voluntarily and without incentives. A total of 144 VET pre-service teachers decided to participate. Regarding participants’ background, 34.5% declared their gender as a female and 64.8% as a male. Some 64% worked currently as teachers and 36% did not. Participants were following two different programs: 52.8% on PPU-y and 47.2% on YFL.
The questionnaire employed a slightly adopted version of the FIT-Choice scales (Goller et al., 2019; Nesje et al., 2018) to measure participants’ perceptions of the teaching profession and their motivations to become a VET teacher. Response options for perception and reasons for changing career were based on degree of agreement (1 = disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Yet, for motivation, participants rated the degree of importance (1 = not important at all … 7 = very important). In terms of analysis, the dimensional structure of the instrument was first confirmed by examining the internal scale consistencies which were acceptable for the three perception scales (between α = .69 and α = .96) and the six motivation scales (between α = .76 and α = .90). Scale means, standard deviations, and correlations were also calculated. To examine the associations between participants’ perceptions and motivations, a structural equation modelling (SEM) strategy (Muthén & Muthén, 1998–2010) will be implemented later.
Expected Findings
Preliminary findings indicate that VET pre-service teachers report higher perceptions of the teaching profession as an expert career (M = 5.16, SD = 1.10) and as profession with high demand (M = 5.04, SD = 1.05). In contrast, their perceptions of teachers' salaries are markedly lower (M = 3.22, SD = 1.28). A significant positive correlation exists between the perception of an expert career and high demand (r = .38, p < .01) teaching profession. Males report significantly lower levels of perception regarding the expert career than females. Additionally, current teaching status shows a negative relationship with the expert career. No differences were identified across the two study programs. Participants report higher levels of motivation to shape the futures of students (M = 5.97, SD = 1.02) and to work with students (M = 5.44, SD = 1.24). Many also consider Job security (M = 5.22, SD = 1.33) and intrinsic value of teaching (M = 5.06, SD = 1.13) important. In contrast, participants consider prior teaching and learning experiences (M = 4.25, SD = 1.68) and social influences (M = 4.03, SD = 1.71) less critical. Significant associations exist between shaping future of students, working with students, job security, and intrinsic value, with levels of correlations ranging between .32 and .65. Males report lower levels than females on statements regarding working with students, job security and prior teaching and learning experience. Examining the perception of the teaching profession more closely, the notion of an expert career appears pivotal (see also Stellmacher et al., 2020). This perception of an expert career is significantly associated with key motivational factors, including intrinsic value, shaping future, and working with students. Further investigation into expert career holds promise for understanding how VET pre-service teachers value the teaching profession across the educational systems in Europe.