Abstract

The Authors used current influential models from the literature to explore the factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career and the research productivity of university teachers. The study was qualitative in nature. An interview protocol having ten open-ended questions about the influencing factors of teaching as a career choice and research productivity was used to collect data from a sample of 30 university teachers. The face-to-face and online interviews tried to explore and identify factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career and research productivity of university teachers. The study made several theoretical as well as practical contributions. An understanding of the factors for the choice of teaching profession and research productivity has implications for planning and the development of teacher recruitment and promotion policies. The researchers extended the value component of the value-expectancy motivational framework and provided a theoretical and analytical framework to help guide future investigations in this area.

Key Words

Research Productivity Teaching as a Career  

Introduction

Factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career and research productivity are two main variables that contribute to the teaching-learning process at the university level. The education imparted at universities is directly concerned with the quality of teachers. A teacher plays a very important role in the implementation of all educational reforms. The teacher is just like a yardstick that measures the achievements and aspirations of the nation (Evans, 2007). In modern educational research on motivation has gradually attracted the attention of educators. Therefore, most of this research is devoted to the theme of factors that influence the choice of teaching as a career and research productivity of university teachers in public sector universities of Punjab. Universities and other academic institutions have constantly served as feeder institutions to the overall development of nations through research (Uzoka, 2008). Research has shown that teachers are influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors (Eimers, 1997). The major objective of the study was to identify factors that influence the choice of teaching as a career and the research productivity of university teachers in Punjab. Further studies on factors that influence the choice of teaching as a career also distinguished between intrinsic, extrinsic and altruistic reasons for choosing the profession (Kyriacou &Coulthard, 2000; Moran, Kilpatrick, Abbott, Dallat, &McClune, 2001). Intrinsically motivated teachers are focused on teaching and the activity related to the job itself. The inherent satisfaction or the joy of teaching is viewed as the driving force. The extrinsically motivated teachers focus on the benefits of teaching, such as salary, vacations or other external rewards connected to the job. Finally, the altruistically motivated teacher view teaching as a socially worthwhile and important job and has a desire to be part of young people's growth and development (Hellsten & Prytula, 2013). Well-motivated teachers can build a national and international reputation for themselves and the universities. The situation in Pakistan regarding research at universities is not impressive, and Pakistan still lacks a research culture at that par with the developed countries of the world (Lodhi, 2010). “There are deficiencies in the quality of both skills and research output of the education sector. A viable quality assurance mechanism is essentially required in Pakistan to change and improve the quality of output and efficiency of the higher education learning systems” (Mahmood & Shafique, 2010).

Methodology

A sample of 30 university teachers was selected for the interview from public sector universities of Punjab by using a convenient sampling technique. There were twelve Lecturers, nine Assistant Professors, six Associate Professors and three Professors in the sample. An interview protocol was developed by the researchers based on the extensive literature review, and ten Open ended questions were asked from teachers about factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career at the university level and the relationship of these factors with the research productivity of university teachers. Probing questions were also asked to obtain detailed information. 

Data Collection

Interviews with university teachers were conducted online as well as face to face in order to get detailed information about the relationship of factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career with the research productivity of university teachers. The interviews were audio recorded, and later on, the researcher identified the main themes. 

Results

The following sections provide the results of the qualitative data. These results are presented according to the questions of the interview:




Q1: What were the Factors that Influenced your Choice of Teaching as a Career?

It was observed that teachers have different factors that influence their choice of teaching as a career. 




Family Motivation

A few participants reported that they chose teaching as their career because of family motivation. According to one participant, his father influenced him to become a teacher, motivated him, and some teachers also influenced him. Few teachers joined teaching due to family motivation, but now they are more satisfied and happy with their choice of teaching as a career. According to another participant: ‘’the family background where almost everyone around me in my home is a teacher’’.




Natural Inclination

According to a  participant, he was naturally in love with teaching. He said, ''teaching was the best platform where I could learn a lot by imparting my knowledge to the students, and It would keep enhancing my own language and communication skills''. Another participant said ''I have opted for this profession of teaching because it gives inner satisfaction, and I have a natural inclination towards teaching''.

Ideal Teachers

Five research participants reported that the role of ideal teachers is very prominent in the lives of students. The majority of the respondents said they chose teaching because of few ideal teachers in their lives. 




To Impart Knowledge

Few participants said ''Teaching has always been my passion as it demonstrates my inner desire to help others to share my knowledge. But the majority of the teachers choose teaching by chance but after joining the profession, the teaching career and enjoy the teaching young minds to learn and impart knowledge. 




Interest 

On the other hand, a few participants also joined the teaching profession because of interest. According to a few participants, ''There are many factors involved in it as such love for teaching, but my purpose of choice of this profession want to spread the positivity in our coming generation and Interest also''. 




Positive Attitude to Society

According to a few participants, the attitude of society mostly influenced their choice of teaching as a career. According to another participant ''the factors that influenced me to pick out this profession as a career are an internal passion, the prestige of this profession, interpersonal influence, and academic ability''. Respect in society, self-learning, delivering knowledge and a corruption-free field are those factors that influenced many participants to choose teaching as a career. The majority of the participants said that they joined teaching profession because of the prestige of this profession, and a few teachers also motivated them to choose teaching. 




No Option other than Teaching

Only one participant said that due to employment status, there was no choice. Some friends motivated him to choose a career that is secure. 




Profession of Prophets

According to one research participant, he joined teaching because it is a profession of prophets. Teaching is a very sacred profession through which a teacher plays a significant role not only in preparing the students for earning their livelihood but also build a civilized society.

Figure 1






Q2: Please share the Challenges that you had to face in doing Research Work?

Many challenges were elaborated by university teachers in doing research work.







Lack of Resources and Time 

According to two participants, the greatest challenge was the lack of financial issues was the absence of actual application of research to society. According to a few participants, lack of available time and lack of resources were major challenges in doing research. Participants also considered time management as a  challenge.




Workload

As teachers had to teach the assigned courses and also had to do administrative tasks, it became difficult to spare time for research. Few participants said that due to certain administrative responsibilities, they are unable to perform better in research activities. 




Data Collection

Similarly, there were other challenges like the collection of data and especially the analysis of data, as there were very few people who could analyze the data and interpret that data in terms of the specified objectives. Some people could statistically help others, but the interpretation of data was difficult.




Family Responsibilities

The main challenge is to find spare time from duties and family responsibilities to conduct research work. Especially female respondents said that due to family responsibilities, they were unable to perform better in research activities. 




Financial Issues

Non-availability of funding for research was considered an issue because it is at the university level as well as the national level.




Professional Jealousy

Two participants also reported that professional jealousy was another challenge in doing research.




Selection of Topic

According to a few participants, selection of a good topic, asking the right questions in the questionnaire, and later on, collecting the data. According to another participant's area of interest to selecting a topic was a major challenge. 




Lack of Writing Skills

Few participants said that the English language is also another problem because we are not native speakers. For research publications, we have to face problems.

According to another participant: unfortunately, there are many challenges for current researchers 1) no guiding centre regarding Pakistani languages is available, 2) The free material is available, but for the paid material, one has to bear in one's pocket, 3) No research culture is in the universities, 4) No standards are available for the Pakistani researchers, 5) no Pakistani based indexation service is available, 6) research journals are very few in numbers. 7) Most of the international universities are not accepting Pakistani researchers' work, 8) there is no data bank of Pakistani research studies, 9) There is no Pakistani research repository and the currently available research repository is only for the PhD research work, 10) BS and M.Phil research work are not given importance irrespective of the fact that this is the foundation level, 11) there is no research course for junior classes like BS, 12) there is no research standard for Pakistani research students neither in quantitative or qualitative domains, 13), there are no research groups working in the universities.

It was concluded that university teachers are facing a lot of challenges in doing research. 

Figure 2



Q3: What are the Challenges that you Currently Face in doing Research?

There were different themes derived from

qualitative data about current challenges faced by university teachers in doing research.




Covid-19

Nine participants reported that Covid-19 is a major issue nowadays.




Lack of Motivation

According to a few participants, lack of motivation was a major issue. According to another participant Recently, I'm facing some issues in my research work, such as lack of motivation, lack of morale, poor time management, lack of focus, and limited support. One participant said that 'the only challenge is to push myself go for it. Once I start doing it, nothing stops me''.   




Online Classes

Six participants reported that the busy schedule of online classes was another issue. 




Lack of Ideas

Lack of ideas was also another challenge faced by many research participants.




Administrative Responsibilities

Administrative responsibilities are also a great challenge for doing research. It was mainly because of the management of the time in the university.




Time management

Time management and less support from management were the current challenges in carrying out research. 

Less Cooperative Attitude of Participants

Less cooperative people during research work was also another problem faced by many university teachers. While creating content and putting things into the right scenario are my problems. Further, the pandemic is not helping to explore more and more. 




Lack of knowledge about Modern Approaches 

Lack of knowledge about modern approaches to conducting research to address global challenges is another problem faced by university teachers. 




Repetition and low quality of Research

This low quality of research poses a variety of problems for the true researcher who tries to bring forward authentic and generalizable knowledge. There is a huge quantity of research which does not provide useful and innovative knowledge. This is just the research for the sake of research to meet the minimum requirements of teachers for their promotions. Similarly, repetition or replication of researches is another issue which not only affects the quality of research but also can destroy one's career by posing the threat of plagiarism.




No Research Agenda

29th participant of the study said that Our Institutes, Universities and even governments have no research agendas. So 90% of research is wasted and is not used in policy making or for use in industry or social development. Moreover, the research journals that are required for publishing results to have feedback and to provide recommendations for the concerned quarters are very few. Research publications take a lot of time which sometimes creates a lot of loss of opportunity cost. 

Figure 3



Q4: What do you think a good teacher must be a good Researcher at University Level? If you think that both things are different, then please illustrate the Reasons. 

There are different themes derived from university teachers' responses. The detail is given below: 




A Good Teacher must be a Good Researcher

According to a participant, '' a good teacher must be a good researcher because teaching without research is not a good thing. Alongside teaching, the main responsibility of any university is to produce research in various fields, so a teacher should be a good researcher as well''. The 28th participant said ''I don't think that a good researcher and a good teacher are two different things. They are the two sides of one coin. A good researcher cannot be separated from a good teacher and vice versa. A teacher cannot be the efficient one if s/he is not a good researcher''. According to the 26th participant, a good teacher must be a good researcher because teaching encompasses the teaching techniques and skills, evaluation of students, and grip on the subject. I have observed during my teaching career that a teacher must go through different teacher training courses and workshops in order to become a proficient teacher. Another participant said ''A good teacher must be a good researcher. The aim of the university teacher should be to develop critical thinking among students. Research-oriented teaching is the ideal teaching at the university level''. 




To know about new Trends

There were five participants said that a teacher must be aware of the new trends. This encourages the students to look for new things as well.




To Observe Problems of Students

A good teacher should be a good researcher because a teacher can easily observe the difficulties of the students and find the solution to these difficulties.










Good Researchers are not good Teachers

However, undoubtedly, research grooms a student and leads to a top edge of learning. Both things are different, but the university does not provide researchers for research projects. The teachers have to manage both things (teaching and research). That's why research students suffer a lot. Another participant said, 'I think research is not that much compulsory for good teaching because there are various teachers who are not doing any type of research, but they are teaching very well. Furthermore, it becomes difficult to teach, research and look after the home as well at the same time, but yes, if someone is managing all the things well, that is a really great way. He must be a good listener. Teaching and researching are two different things. Some universities require that professors publish at least two/three papers a year. However, the workload between teaching and researching becomes a "burning process" that professors decide to focus on researching, leaving his or her teaching skills relegated.

It is vice versa, sometimes it is necessary, and some other times it is not required.




Many Teachers are teaching well, but they are not good Researchers

There are always a number of research options on computers, but sometimes it makes you confused between the authentic and unauthentic sites for the relevant material. Moreover, there is no access to books at home which a teacher used to have in the university. The next participant said Both are different, (a) Research belongs to Knowledge of the subject, critical thinking, writing skills, research skills, publishing skills and research ethics, while, in teaching, one must have knowledge and should have the ability to inculcate this knowledge to others. Teaching and research are two separate fields which require a diverse set of skills. 




Necessity of Time

It is necessary for a university teacher to perform well in research activities. One participant said ''No research means no university teacher''. He said a good teacher keeps on reading, analyzing, and surely researching things at the university level. A teacher must research while teaching at a university level because it enlarges the horizon of creativity, and learning has no boundaries. Therefore, a good teacher must be a researcher. A good teacher must be a good communicator to deliver a lecture in a good way. 




Two Tracks

The 29th participant said ''I would say that there should be two separate tracks; a research track and a teaching track for university teachers. Both should get equal opportunities for growth and promotions. The faculty with a research track should show their results more dominantly in publications with a lesser teaching load, while the teachers with a teaching track should show their performance with greater scores in performance evaluation. The promotion for the posts of Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors should depend upon the student evaluations for the teaching track teachers, and the same should come from research publications for research track teachers. Both should get equal or rotational charge to head the respective institute''.

Figure 4



 Figure 4: Frequency of Teachers about Good Teachers Must be Good Researcher




 

Q5: What are the main factors that influence your efforts to keep doing research? What do you expect from your greater research productivity (e.g. positive repute among colleagues, Social recognition, promotion etc.)?

There were different themes derived from university teachers’ views about efforts for doing research. Ultimately positive repute among colleagues, recognition and promotion also influence.




Application of Research

Few participants said that real application of research and repute are the driving force. The 29th participant said that I see major problems that government, society and my fellow-citizens face in their day-to-day life. Since I come from an administrative background, I don't feel comfortable with the status quo. The role of government and the role of bureaucrats in providing services to the public requires a lot of changes that span from procedural changes to changes in the nature of solutions and even changes in the nature of problems. My concern is improvement in the plight of my people (people of Pakistan) when government provides and spends taxpayers' money or when it makes plans for development. When any of my research work gives solutions, but these solutions are part of the shelf rather than become implemented in the state policy, I get troubled. 




Positive repute among Colleagues

There were three participants who responded that positive repute among colleagues is very important. The most important thing is personal satisfaction which is only possible by attaching herself to the field of research.

One participant said, ‘’As most of the colleagues are doing research by only adding their names in the research works of their colleagues’’.




Promotion

There were 8 participants who responded that we expect promotion in our career after research publications. Intrinsic motivation is also an important factor. Your goal is to have a strong productivity. Promotion Money etc. are very much important. 

Few participants also responded that the main factors are learning and promotion. Self-promotion, subject promotion, and respect in the field prepare researchers for the future. It is only attached with good repute and promotions. To achieve this purpose, one should have good research as most of the colleagues are doing research by only adding their names to the research works of their colleagues, which is not beneficial for our academia.




Grants and other Incentives

There were five participants said that grants and other incentives are their expectations of greater research productivity. 




Social Recognition

Social recognition is a very important factor, and university teachers don't have high social recognition because of greater research productivity. According to a few participants, they need social recognition. Another participant said that ‘’ the main factor is my motivation because I want social recognition and through research I can know about the trends of my society’’ social recognition, and positive repute.




Learning Purpose

There were five participants said that the motivation for the research is always for the purpose of learning. There are different things which have become obsolete in the English language, and new words are being borrowed from the other languages. The same is the case with the pronunciation of the words, so to learn new things, you must need to do the relevant research. Few participants also responded that without research, teaching is so hard because the teacher can't add some extra material for his students, and that is the material which can enhance the understanding of the students. But to become a skilled and learned teacher, one must have to equip with the latest teaching techniques, which can be attained through research. Another participant (26th) said that ''the main objective of my research is always to produce new knowledge for my subject. ''Through this research, I always get appreciation and encouragement from colleagues and seniors''. 

Figure 5



Q6: Do you think your motivation and research activities have changed over time as you have been promoted? Progressed in your career? If yes, what were the changes?

There were different themes were derived from

university teacher's views about the relationship of factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career with research productivity. Yes, it happens when we get a reward for our work. We feel encouraged and its effects on our work, but again, some factors like overburden influence our performance.




More Motivated and Enthusiastic

There were seven participants who said that they were more motivated with the passage of time. Yes, of course, in my opinion, motivation and research activities will be changed over time may be because of a busy routine or might be for a developed career. So, changes might be negative to my research work. There is a strong connection between motivation and research work. Sometimes the morale is high, and mostly it's difficult to agree with myself for work, but with the passage of time, things are getting changed, and I am becoming more enthusiastic. According to another participant ''Yes, in the start, I was very enthusiastic about doing research, but after I got promoted, I am not attached to research. So, I think that only research is necessary to progress in your profession, but other than that, no research is necessary to promote your career. Surely motivation, as well as my interest in the research activities, has changed over time with my promotion as well as experiences.




Quantity vs Quality

Five participants viewed that in the beginning, the focus was on the quantity of research, and they were personally involved in designing and conducting the research and even travelled for data collection. But with the passage of time, the shift has been in focus due to the quality instead of quantity. Moreover, in the present time, they spend most of the time supervising their students; therefore, the data collection and designing of research is the primary responsibility of the students. 




No Changes

Three participants said that there was no change in research activities. One participant said, "The research does not change anything; it's the research that changes you" because of research activities, some changed our red in me, which changed me entirely. For instance, critically analyze from a neutral perspective.




More Skilled

Promotions have not only added to my responsibilities but also some other extra duties. That is why my research abilities are a bit hampered, but my passion for doing research is still the same. Another participant said that Promotion motivates a researcher to do more work and enhance his capabilities in research, so it has positive impacts.




Feel encouraged and Satisfied

According to a few participants, their promotion will change their motivation for doing research that can only enhance their job responsibilities that could hamper their research abilities but would not stop it at all. With the passage of time, experience and knowledge increase, so research quality improves. One participant said he is more engrossed in research and the research agenda is more refined, as with the passage of time, he has learnt that it is useless to think that universities or Government have any idea of what the people need, but being a scholar of the said area, he is more clear what needs to be done if this all converts into promotion or improvement in salary structure that not bad either. 

Figure 6



Q7: Do you have any suggestions or advice for the university as to how it can improve the research productivity of teachers or motivate them to conduct research? Please specify. 

The majority of the participants believed that research grants, scholarships, fellowships and monetary rewards definitely affect the research productivity and motivation of teachers.




Research Culture

According to a few participants, a university should curtail the research practice of top management because they should focus on managerial issues and good rapport with their colleagues in the shape of solving their problems. For them, the research culture should be different from the research culture, which is enforced by the teaching faculty. Universities need to promote their research culture by adding monetary and service benefits to their professional careers. There should be a column added to their personal evaluation reports so that the teaching faculty must work in this direction. There are many participants who believe that universities should promote the culture of research by recognizing the efforts of teachers and researchers. Research articles should be published by the teachers at least once a year. Few participants suggested that universities should provide a proper setup for research labs and resources like internet facilities as well, as universities really need to give a chance to their students that they can publish their work on the national or international level.  




Fellowship Programs

There were five participants said that fellowship programs can motivate university teachers in a better way. 




Evaluation Criteria 

It was also suggested that quality should be enhanced by research grants, and teaching effectiveness should be judged by the quality and extent of student learning. Quality teaching and effective learning should be highly ranked institutional priorities. Universities must include perks and privileges for the researching faculty, and there should be a check and balance on research products too so that fake studies are finished.




Monetary Awards

According to other participants, monetary and service benefits must be attached to good research, for which universities should constitute research groups, so that good research culture could flourish in the university. The majority of the teachers suggested that to improve the quality of research, and the teachers should be given proper resources as well as financial assistance. In the same way, they should be given ample time to conduct research and implement their research results.




Workshops

According to two Participants University should organize some workshops on the importance of the research for the Teachers. They should be given access to authentic sites and materials.




Appreciation

According to one participant by appreciation and Giving more value to researchers cum teachers in the real business of state at different levels. He also suggests that the university should consider the publications as principal authors or the publications as co-author with his research supervisors only for the promotion and other incentives. This step will help to improve research productivity. Referencing software should be established annually, and toppers should be awarded to promote motivation. There are few participants who said that through appreciation and internal motivation because external motivation only words for some days. Our university has great researchers and scholars, and its quality of research is already at a high rank. I also have a humble suggestion that our university should have more links with top universities of the world and there should be more cultural exchange programs through which our young teachers should get trainings to improve their teaching and professional skills.







Online Guidance

Few participants suggested that Analysis centres should be developed in all universities. University might avail the facilities and necessities which are very crucial when it comes to research. Additionally, the university must let the teachers select topics according to their surroundings. 

Projects at the university level should be announced every year, and research grants should be increased for quality research. Hence the research is conducted only for the sake of research instead of any good purpose. To improve the quality of research among teachers, promotion should not be tagged with the quantity of research. Instead, it should be associated with the quality of research. Moreover, there should be other incentives for the teacher; in any case, they publish in a highly reputed journal or innovate something new. Society or market-oriented research should be encouraged. 

Figure 7



Q8: Do you think your choice for teaching as a career at the university level has any relationship with research productivity? 

There was the majority of the teachers considered teaching and research to be compulsory and interrelated for university teachers. But very few teachers said that research is not necessary for good teaching. They suggested that good researchers are not good teachers. Teaching is something related to the teaching skills of teachers and researchers to the skills related to research, so a good teacher may not be a good researcher and vice versa. Both are related to different types of skills. Teaching and Research productivity are always interrelated. A well-equipped teacher is always liked by the students. If the lecture of a teacher is full of updated material, it's going to enhance the knowledge of the students which is not possible in a routine like a lecture based on the traditional methods of teaching.




To Improve Teaching Competencies

Few participants reported that research is very important for improving teaching competencies. 

University keeps you intact to improve teaching competencies. Time is very important you have a lot of time.




Interrelated

According to a few participants teaching and research are interrelated activities.  




Depends on the Working Conditions of the Department

Teaching and research are important things, but it also depends on the working conditions of a department. According to another participant, yes, it has relationships but depends upon the department which one is currently working with because research culture is different for every department. Some departments are working in their own capacity to enhance research facilities for their faculty members. Yet, there are departments where there is no research culture at all. There is a healthy research competition among teachers, and research incentives also motivate teachers for quality research. My research capabilities are improved being a university teacher.   




Publish is the Way of University Teacher

To some extent, there is a relationship between factors influencing teaching choice with research productivity, but according to the majority of the respondents, there is a strong relationship. On the basis of research, teachers should be hired.

Definitely, research ensures survival for university teachers. 




Necessary for Teaching

Three participants said they believe that research helps to teach. You have to search for materials, read them, compare and contrast materials and prepare to teach notes and these steps are part of doing research. From experience, I discovered that being active in researching helps to teach better.

Updated Knowledge for Students

There were four participants said that research is

important for updated knowledge for teaching and students' motivation. Teaching and researching go side by side, and one strengthens the other because if I want to create rapport among my students, I should work in the research domain. The other participant said ''Yes, it is very much related to it because most of the time, I have to think about changing the course content as per the level of my students for which I need research activity. At the start of the course, I need to have a need-analysis of my students so that I can align my content as per their needs. The University atmosphere is very productive and encouraging for research scholars. 28th participant said that ‘’truly speaking and the beginning of my University career I did not expect any kind of relationship between the research and the teaching activities''. But at present, I do think that research and teaching activities cannot be separated from one another. For good teaching, a teacher has to be a good researcher.



Figure 8



Q9: Please specify factors influencing your choice of teaching at the university level and how you will relate these factors with your research productivity?

There were different themes derived from qualitative data related to the relationship of factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career with research productivity.




To Conduct Research

One of the main reasons for joining teaching was to do research that could help the country to be in the top-notch of developed countries and also for students to excel in their careers. Research productivity is more than necessary in that case because it is good for everything related to the teaching profession. The other target was to involve me in higher-level research activities, especially in the field of teacher education, assessment and evaluation, and curriculum development. According to another participant, the relationship between the factors of joining University surface and research productivity is concerned that University service has provided an opportunity to fulfil research aspirations not only on an individual basis but also in the group. Another participant said that he has worked with my colleagues as well as with my supervisor to conduct the research in the areas of my interest as described above. I think that my research productivity is entirely related to my University services. I would not have been so efficient in the research if I had not joined the university service.




Innovation and Self Learning

According to 1 participant, ''All the factors of teaching are positively related to research, for instance, teaching a subject help to upgrade my knowledge in the subject that help me to identify the gaps and further research'' All the factors of teaching are positively related to research, for instance, teaching a subject help to upgrade my knowledge in the subject that help me to identify the gaps and further research. According to another participant, teaching at the university level is related to competence, understanding and creativity. Teaching is my passion, and for teaching, I need to be attached to current trends in the world. Besides that, it is also attached with new concepts attached to my subject too, which should be known to my students to excel in their fields.




To Teach Young Minds

The main factor for teaching at the university level is to teach the young minds and learn how they learn and study and teach the up-to-date knowledge because, in other classes, it cannot be possible the things/ contents are repeated again and again. According to another participant, I have joined teaching as a career to pursue more chances to train young minds. At the very start of my career, I wanted to 

excel in research but afterwards got promoted, and due to some other factors, I could not remain in touch with research.

According to another participant, teaching at the university level is a wonderful activity as working with adult learners is a prestige. Teaching at university is a higher level of teaching, so it creates more confidence in a teacher. Research-oriented working environment and sharing knowledge among young students influenced me to become a university teacher. Another participant said that life gave me a chance to think for the greater good of the people and prepare young minds for doing research and also helped in giving research direction. 




Explore Research Potential at University

Few participants said that they chose the teaching profession to excel their potential in the field of research. Without research, no one can survive. The basic purpose is related to the by-choice factor, and it is being fulfilled with teaching, and as far as the research factors are concerned, they also contribute to it.

Social Recognition

According to another participant, My motivation to do teaching in the university is learning another to make a well-reputed name among my students, which keeps me doing the research, updating my current knowledge and making them up to date. Being valuable to the masses makes me choose it since the value is attached to knowledge that comes with exploration. An attractive lifestyle, respectable social status and better salary are also the factors which influenced me to become a university teacher. 

Figure 9

Conclusion

The primary aim of the study was to explore the relationship of factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career with the research productivity of university teachers in the province of Punjab. The study subjects were university teachers in Punjab province. The conclusion of the study builds a quick understanding of readers' research. It was concluded that teachers are satisfied with their choice of teaching as a career at the university level. The views about research productivity varied across different designations (professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and lecturer) and levels of qualification. It was also concluded that teachers choose to teach at the university level to fulfil their passion for carrying out research. It was h interesting to conclude that the thinking level, interest and preference for research productivity of university teachers changed with the passage of time in their career. 

The analysis of the interview data reflected differences in the opinions of university teachers regarding their self-efficacy for teaching and research productivity. It was concluded that many factors. Such as family motivation, ideal teachers, and the positive attitude of society toward the teaching profession influenced the choice of teaching for university teachers. There were many factors that influenced the research productivity of university teachers, e.g. promotion, self-learning, social recognition, grants and incentives etc. It was also concluded that there were diverse opinions of teachers about the connectivity of research productivity skills with teaching skills at the university level.

References

• Eimers, M. T. (1997). The role of intrinsic enjoyment in motivating faculty. Thought and Action, 13(2), 42-125.
• Evans, L. (2007). Developing research cultures and researchers in higher education: The role of leadership. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), School of Education, University of Leeds. UK.
• Hellsten, L. M., & Prytula, M. P. (2013).Why teaching? Motivations influencing beginning teachers' choice of profession and teaching practice. Research in Higher Education Journal, 13(1), 30-28.
• Kyriacou, C., & Coulthard, M. (2000). Undergraduates views of teaching as a career choice. Journal of Education for Teaching:nternational Research and Pedagogy, 26(7), 117-126.