Daar is ’n groeiende tekort aan toepaslik opgeleide onderwysers in Suid-Afrika. Debatte oor die
afname in onderwysergetalle in Suid-Afrika is tewens aan die orde van die dag. In hierdie studie
word die resultate van ’n ondersoek na moontlike faktore wat die beroepskeuse van
onderwysstudente beïnvloed, gerapporteer. Eerstejaaronderwysstudente aan die Universiteit van
Pretoria se beweegredes vir die keuse van onderwys as beroep is bestudeer deur gebruik te maak
van ’n nie-eksperimentele ontwerp (opname-ontwerp; inskakeling van ’n nie-gestandaardiseerde
vraelys). Dit blyk uit die analises onder meer dat verskeie faktore die beroepskeuse van
eerstejaaronderwysstudente beïnvloed. Tendense wat uit die onderhawige studie blyk, sluit dit in
dat baie meer vroue as mans onderwys as beroep betree, dat relatief min Afrikataalsprekende
studente onderwys as beroep kies en dat die rol van ouers in hul kinders se beroepskeusemaking
nooit geringgeskat kan word nie.
The lack of appropriately qualified teachers in South Africa is growing rapidly and debates
about the decline in teacher numbers in South Africa are increasing. In this study, the results of
an investigation into possible factors that impact on the career choice of teaching students are
reported. The reasons why first-year teaching students at the University of Pretoria chose teaching
as a career were studied by using a non-experimental design (survey design; administering a
non-standardised questionnaire). The results revealed, inter alia, that a number of factors
influence the career choice of first-year teaching students. Trends that emerged from the current
study include the following: many more women than men enter the teaching profession; relatively
few African language speaking students choose education as a field of study and the role of
parents in helping their children to choose a career cannot be underestimated.
