Why Teach? Challenges, Rewards, and Future Considerations for the Profession

Teaching is a challenging yet rewarding career. To better support teacher candidates in our educator preparation program and to prepare them for their future teaching career, this study examined perspectives of 133 experienced teachers, which were collected through individual interviews by teacher candidates. Results revealed the challenges and rewards of teaching within three major themes: 1) Challenges and unrealistic teacher demands, 2) bonding with students, and 3) collaboration and team spirit in planning. This study presents a comprehensive picture of the reality of teaching and offers recommendations for policy changes to better support and recruit teachers to the profession.