ABSTRACT
The standing, competence and motivation of the teaching force are at the center of public discussion in many countries (OECD 1 , 1990). In this chapter the reader is introduced into issues concerning the motivation and commitment of teachers. Motivation refers to the desire and willingness of a person to take some action in pursuit of some goal, while commitment refers to involvement and the emotional linkage between the individual employee and the organization. At present, it is widely claimed that the teaching profession is demoralized and suffers from diminished job satisfaction and decreased commitment. In this chapter motivation and commitment are discussed briefly from the perspective of the (inter)national level of education systems. The major part, however, focuses on the organizational level, as it deals with commitment within schools.
