An examination of the relationship between special education teacher candidates' learning motivation, teaching motivation and empathic tendencies

This study was designed as correlational research to examine the relationships between learning motivation, teaching motivation, and empathetic tendencies of special education teacher candidates. The population of this study comprised students enrolled in special education teaching departments within the faculties of education at universities located in Istanbul and Sakarya during the 2023–2024 academic year. The sample consisted of 343 special education teacher candidates selected from the specified population. Data were collected using a personal information form and the "Reasons for Choosing the Special Education Teaching Bachelor's Program Questionnaire" developed by the researcher; the Learning Motivation Scale for Higher Education (EMAPRE-U/YÖMÖ-Ü) developed by Zeroni and Santos (2010) and adapted into Turkish by Erduran-Tekin (2023); the Motivation to Teach Scale (MTS/ÖMÖ) developed by Kauffman, Yılmaz Soylu, and Duke (2011) and adapted into Turkish by Güzel-Candan and Evin-Gencel (2015); and the Empathic Tendency Scale (ETD/EEÖ) developed by Dökmen (1988). Data analysis included descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients, along with independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Shapiro-Wilk tests. The correlation analysis revealed the following findings: A positive, low-level, and statistically significant relationship was found between learning motivation and teaching motivation. A positive, moderate-level, and significant relationship was identified between the intrinsic dimension of teaching motivation and empathic tendency. A positive, low-level, and significant relationship was observed between the extrinsic dimension of teaching motivation and empathic tendency. A positive, low-level, and significant relationship exists between empathic tendency and learning motivation. Finally, a positive, moderate-level, and statistically significant relationship was found between empathic tendency and teaching motivation. The learning motivation, teaching motivation, and empathetic tendencies of special education teacher candidates were found to be at moderate levels. Learning motivation showed statistically significant differences based on gender (in favor of females), grade level (favoring 1st and 3rd graders over 4th graders), age (in favor of younger individuals), and academic performance (in favor of those with higher academic performance). Teaching motivation demonstrated statistically significant differences based on gender (in favor of females), grade level (favoring 3rd graders over 1st graders), and academic performance (in favor of those with higher academic performance), while no statistically significant difference was found based on age. Empathetic tendency levels showed statistically significant differences based on gender (in favor of females) and academic performance (in favor of those with higher academic performance), while no statistically significant differences were found based on grade level and age. The findings were discussed in relation to similar studies in the literature. The primary source of the relationship between learning motivation, teaching motivation, and empathetic tendencies was identified as the changes in teachers' duties and roles accompanying the evolving structure of society. Based on these findings, various recommendations were proposed to enhance the learning and teaching motivation of teacher candidates, as well as their empathetic tendencies.