Influence of professional motivation and digital competence on teachers’ career satisfaction

This study aims to examine the factors affecting teachers’ professional motivation and career satisfaction based on their perspectives, with a specific focus on the influence of digital competencies. A teacher's ability to develop a positive attitude toward their profession and achieve their personal career goals is a situation that affects the efficiency of education for both themselves and their students. The study uses a qualitative, phenomenological design, with participants comprising 11 teachers from various subjects and school levels, selected through maximum variation sampling, a purposeful sampling method. According to the findings derived from teachers’ feedback, the attitudes of school administrators, colleagues, and parents have both positive and negative impacts on teachers' motivation and career satisfaction. Teachers primarily attribute their motivation to internal factors and note their efforts to develop digital competencies, ensuring they remain adaptable to the evolving demands of the digital age in education. It has been observed that teachers’ professional motivation is influenced by several factors, including their income levels, the adequacy of the school’s physical environment, communication with administrators and colleagues, student motivation, and their own passion for the profession. Since teachers view their profession not merely as a job but as a mission and social duty, they tend to associate career satisfaction with their ability to contribute to students' growth, inspire them, and make a lasting impact on their lives, rather than with higher salaries or social status. Additionally, societal perspectives and political policies shape how teachers perceive their profession as a long-term career.