The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST)
Fernet, Claude Senecal, Caroline Guay, Frederic Marsh, Herbert Warren Dowson, Martin
Fernet, Claude
Senecal, Caroline
Guay, Frederic
Marsh, Herbert Warren
Dowson, Martin
Abstract
The authors developed and validated a measure of teachers' motivation toward specific work tasks: The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST). The WTMST is designed to assess five motivational constructs toward six work tasks (e.g., class preparation, teaching). The authors conducted a preliminary (n = 42) and a main study among elementary and high school teachers (n = 609) to develop and validate the scale. Overall, results from the main study reveal that the WTMST is composed of 30 reliable and valid factors reflecting five types of motivation among six work tasks carried out by teachers. Results based on an extension of the multitrait—multimethod approach provide very good support for assessing teachers' motivation toward various work tasks. Support for the invariance of the WTMST over gender and teaching levels was also obtained. Results are discussed in light of self-determination theory and the multitask perspective.
Keywords
teachers, motivation, self-determination, domain specificity, scale development
Date
2008
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Career Assessment
Book
Volume
16
Issue
2
Page Range
256-279
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts