Investigation of the Relationship Between Pre-Service EFL Teachers’ TPACK and Teaching Motivation

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the relationship between technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and teaching motivation of fourth year students studying in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs in Türkiye in order to reveal whether and how the two phenomena are related to each other. The study also aimed to explore the perceptions of pre-service EFL teachers and academics regarding the TPACK and teaching motivation of pre-service EFL teachers. The participants in the study consisted of 4th year students in the EFL programs of sixteen state universities in seven geographical regions of Türkiye and academics working in these departments. Participants were determined through the stratified sampling method. 377 fourth-year EFL students and 9 academics took part in the study. The study followed a mixed-method research design. The findings of the study indicated that pre-service EFL teachers’ TPACK and motivation to teach had a positive correlation. While they had minimal predictive power over each other, the impact of motivation to teach over TPACK was statistically higher than the impact of TPACK over motivation to teach. The perceptions of pre-service teachers and academics also indicated a relation between TPACK and motivation to teach. The study revealed the TPACK and teaching motivation levels of pre-service teachers as well as the perceptions of pre-service teachers and academics on these. The study also provided pedagogical implications on the development of EFL teacher education programs as well as the TPACK and teaching motivation of pre-service EFL teachers.