Achievement Motive as a Predictor of Readiness for the Professional Development of Teachers

An achievement motive is a significant predictor of achievement in many areas of work. Our research aimed to determine whether it is possible, based on the achievement motive and its factors, to predict the readiness of teachers for professional development and certain sub-factors of this dimension. Also, through research, we tried to determine the predictive value of socio-demographic variables: gender, years of service, type of school where teachers work and previous education, motivation, achievement, and readiness of teachers for professional development. The research was conducted on a sample of 452 primary and secondary school teachers, and the following research instruments were used: Scale MOP 2002 (Franceško, Mihić, and Bala 2002) and Scale SPR–N (Beara and Okanović 2010). The results have shown a relationship between the general achievement motive and teachers' readiness for professional development. Multivariate analysis of variance determined that the components of achievement motivation, such as setting and achieving goals, competition with others, persistence, and orientation toward planning are statistically significant predictors of certain aspects of teachers' readiness for professional development. The research determined that the socio-demographic variable years of service statistically significantly predict the motivation of teachers' achievements, while gender is a significant predictor of teachers' readiness for professional development. Taking into account the fact, that the professional development of teachers is one of the key elements of the quality of education, the obtained results offer information about the foundations of professional development and indicate the direction of the practical activities of experts in this area.