Does teenage interest in a teaching career lead to becoming a teacher? Evidence from Australia

Abstract

Prior research on teenage interest in teaching careers hinges on the assumption that many adolescents, who expect to become teachers, realise their plans in adulthood. However, little is currently known about whether this is the case for recent youth cohorts. This issue is explored here using the nationally representative data from the Australian PISA 2006 cohort who participated, between 2006 and 2016, in the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth. The findings indicate that two-thirds of teenage students who wanted to become teachers abandoned their plans before turning 23. The implications for policy and future research are also discussed.