Abstract

Recent research shows significant motivational changes during teacher training including a significant drop in the intellectual curiosity of teachers in training. Given the relevance of this observation and its possible impact on the quality of the training of future teachers, this study aims to describe and analyze student-attributed caused to declined intellectual curiosity during initial teacher training. From a general sample of future primary teacher (n=295) who were evaluated across motivational variables, students who showed a significant drop in this variable were selected for interview (posttest-pretest delta >=-1z). Students were interviewed in depth (n=10) to explore possible causes behind motivational decline. Causes attributed to low motivation focus on factors within teacher training: expectations/reality discrepancy, low-demanding or non-challenging environments, and technical conceptions of the teaching profession. Self-reported attributions to reasons behind declining motivation are consistent with previous studies. A generalized perception of low quality, lack of challenge, and the eminently technical character of the profession conspire against student commitment to solid academic formation. Given that intellectual curiosity is key in learning and can provide teachers the opportunity to model the desire to learn in their students, widespread perception of low quality and demand is a wake-up call for training institutions.