Evaluation of the teaching profession law in terms of teacher motivation

The fact that the teaching profession, which is one of the most important professions that play a role in the development of society, does not have its own professional law has been a subject of criticism in Turkey for many years. While most of the regulations for the teaching profession were previously included in different laws, the Teaching Profession Law (TPL) enacted in 2022 tried to put an end to this situation. However, the TPL, which includes important regulations on the teaching profession, is also subject to various criticisms. Therefore, it is important to reveal teachers' views on the TPL. In this context, the aim of this study is to examine the Teaching Profession Law in terms of teacher motivation in line with teachers' views. The participants of the study, which was conducted according to the case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, consisted of 34 teachers working in public schools in Kütahya city center. In the study where data were collected through interviews, a semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool. The data obtained were analyzed with descriptive analysis. According to the results of the study, the majority of the participants stated that TPL negatively affected teacher motivation. This situation is remarkable in terms of showing how the TPL is perceived by teachers. On the other hand, while some of the participants responded positively to the new practices introduced by the TPL, a significant number of the participants evaluated them negatively. In the study, it was also concluded that the TPL partially met the expectations of teachers, but mostly did not. Finally, the participants made some suggestions for the improvement of the TPL. The findings indicate that TPL should be developed in a way to support teacher motivation.