Att delta i ett utvecklingsarbete : Lärares professionsutveckling och känslan av motivation

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this case study was to identify what contributes to motivate elementary teachers to make progress in their profession through development work. A secondary purpose was to find out what aspects of motivation emerge when the theme of professional development were: teacher-student relationships and strategies for a peaceful education environment. Data was collected through mail surveys with open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews with teachers from preschool up to the 3rd grade. Based on a qualitative thematic analysis using self determination theory collected material was analyzed. The themes located were contextual learning, learning with colleagues and participation. Something to observe is the importance of contextual learning. The teachers emphasize their desire for professional development and that they want to take part in methods that are useful in their profession, they also want to discuss issues that concern their current daily work. It appears that teachers appreciate learning with colleagues, they want to meet, discuss, and exchange experiences. It turns out that development work is not characterized by co-determination. Content and participation are determined by the school´s management and the teachers express an increased support from their principals for the development work to further motivate them.   Conclusions: Those responsible for the teachers´ professional development do not make full use of what the research highlights as successful methods. There are reasonable conditions for eliciting all factors of intrinsic motivation in the self-determination theory and it has the potential to contribute to successful and sustainable professional development for teachers. The result of this study points to soft values such as work with good teacher-student relationships, strategies for a peaceful education environment and professional development where a sense of belonging through collegial learning.   A recommendation for further studies in the field could be focusing on successful methods for professional development and how they can be implemented in developmental work.