What Do Secondary Trainee Teachers Say about Teaching as A Profession of their “Choice” in Malawi?

This article was published in Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol 27 number 2,
Author(s): Peter Mtika, Peter Gates, " What Do Secondary Trainee Teachers Say about Teaching as A Profession of their “Choice” in Malawi?", Pages 424-433, Copyright Elsevier (February 2011).

Quality teacher education remains a critical component as well as a prerequisite for the attainment of universal access to quality free primary education and education for all in developing countries.

The current study is concerned with the recruitment of secondary teachers in Malawi.
This study shows a range of perspectives for pursuing a teacher training course: failure to follow a desired career, springboard to other careers, to upgrade, and teaching out of vocation.

Trainee teachers’ dispositions are central to recruitment and retention within the teaching profession.
The study shows that trainee teachers held a range of images about teaching: its ability to enhance knowledge; low pay with no incentives, low status profession, and lack of trust of male trainee teachers.

The insights into the perspectives of trainee teachers offer teacher educators and policy makers meaningful ways to grapple with the complex realities which may contribute to higher trainee teacher retention.