Pedagogy, Didactics, or Subject Matter? Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Interest Profiles

Interest has been considered an important determinant of teacher quality. However, research into teacher interest, and more specifically, pre-service teachers’ interest is limited. Hence, the current study tackled the current gaps in pre-service teachers’ interest and aimed to explore pre-service teachers’ interest profiles based on the multidimensional framework of teacher interest. A total of 225 pre-service teachers, enrolled in various initial teacher education programs of two universities in Germany, participated voluntarily in the study. The results revealed two distinct pre-service teachers’ profiles based on the three teacher interest factors. Interestingly, the two profiles did not significantly differ in their subject interest levels, but did vary in their didactic and educational interest. In addition, the findings also revealed gender and school track differences in pre-service teachers’ interests and profiles. Consequences for future research and teacher education are discussed in detail