The conceptualization of costs and barriers of a teaching career among Latino preservice teachers

Abstract

We investigated the perceived costs and barriers of a teaching career among Latino preservice teachers and how these men conceptualized costs relative to their race-ethnic identity, gender identity, and planned persistence in the profession from an expectancy-value perspective. We used a mixed-method approach that included a content analysis of open-ended survey responses to identify salient costs and barriers and non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) of participants’ responses to quantitative scales to capture phenomenological meaning of perceived costs, collective identity constructs, and planned persistence in the profession. Participants identified a range of drawbacks and barriers of a teaching career including concerns about job demands, work conditions, teacher preparation demands, emotional costs, social status, and salary, among other concerns. The MDS map for the whole sample suggested race-ethnic and gender identity were closely associated with status, salary, and morale; maps also provided insight into phenomenological meanings of different types of costs and cost measures. MDS maps for individual students demonstrated substantial diversity in individual meanings that are lost in group-level analyses. Results are discussed with attention to theoretical and practical implications for understanding and supporting men of color entering the teaching profession.