LEARNING ECOLOGIES AND MOTIVATION OF HEALTH SCIENCES FACULTY MEMBERS

The present work aims to deepen the study of one of the key components that make up the Personal Dimension of the Learning Ecologies of Health Sciences faculty: teaching motivation. This is a topic scarcely explored in the field of Higher Education, despite the fact that it is an element that strongly influences the quality of the teaching-learning process. Consequently, from a person-centered perspective, the objective of this study is based on the identification of teacher motivational profiles from the combination of two motivational orientations (performance-centered motivation and mastery-oriented motivation). The methodology used was of a quantitative nature, through a survey, and with an exploratory design. The sample is made up of 416 members of the faculty of Health Sciences, belonging to 37 Spanish universities. Using the Latent Class Analysis technique, three motivational teacher profiles were identified: a) Motivated Profile; b) Moderately Motivated Profile; and C) Unmotivated Profile. In the first we find teachers who show high levels of mastery-oriented motivation and moderate levels of performance-oriented motivation. This profile is made up of more than half of the total sample. The second profile is made up of teachers with moderately high motivational levels, although unlike the first, performance-related reasons predominate. Finally, the third group includes teachers who show very low levels in both motivational orientations. These results portray a promising scenario, although potentially perfectible. The implications of this study are aimed at the design and generation of training itineraries better adjusted to the needs and characteristics of the professors to whom they are directed.