Factors influencing choice of career in special education: a descriptive analysis

Background: Choice of career is one of the significant decisions’ one makes to determine his/her future. It is a procedure of choosing a career path which can include choices regarding education and training for preparing a given career. It has been proven by a few researchers that an individual’s choice of career is influenced by numerous factors. That’s why a right career choice is very important for an individual that leads a secure future and remarkable productivity. Objective: The aim of the study was to find out the different factors that influencing the teacher trainee’s choice of career in the field of special education. Sample: B. Ed. and D. Ed. Special Education (MR/ID) teacher trainees [n=85] have been selected for the present study from Govt. Rehabilitation Institute for Intellectual Disabilities, Chandigarh. Design: Descriptive analysis by using qualitative method was used to achieve objective of the study. Tool: With opinion of experts from the field a questionnaire was developed by the researcher to know the responses/opinions of the subjects. Results: Findings of the study indicates that there is an increasing interest in the field of disabilities. The aspirants want to earn more, job security in government sector are the major factors that influences the teacher trainees choice of career in the field of special education. Person with disability in family also affects the trainee’s choice towards career in special education. Conclusion: Based on results, it may be suggested that to take more samples from other institutes in nearby states or can be conducted among the teacher trainees of other disability field. A comparative study can be carried out among teacher trainees of special education field of two or more than two states of India. This will help the educational administrators or institutions to plan for future training programs for pre-service teachers in the field of special education. This study emphasized at limited factors which influence career choice decisions, whereas there are many factors. It is therefore recommended that a similar study be conducted in which many factors influencing the career choice decisions can be explored.