Motivation of Professors in the Undergraduate Course of Accounting. Perspective of the Attribution Theory

Few studies research about the causes of teacher motivation. Teachers should be considered as human beings and social actors, with problems and perspectives, people who struggle to achieve their goals and have a full career. They are motivated like any other professional, and by understanding these causes we can work on improving teaching and the effective process of teaching and learning. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the motivation of Accounting teachers from the perspective of attribution theory. The methodology used was descriptive and quantitative data collection approach. A survey was conducted among Accounting professors from three institutions in the State of Santa Catarina. Data analysis was performed using multidimensional scaling with SPSS software. Results pointed out the motives Accounting professors have to exercise their profession: love for the career; teaching and research; interpersonal relationships; career path; personal and professional satisfaction; working for a university; financial; learning and knowledge; vocational and professional status. The relationship between professor, students and their co-workers, effort and luck were the main causes of the motivation among these professionals.