Motivation for Greek Special Education and Rehabilitation Staff

Abstract

The present study examined the motivation of Greek employees in special education and in rehabilitation field. For the purpose of this study, three focus groups were set up to determine employees’ motives for career choice. Additionally, the reasons that the same participants are presently doing the specific job were examined through the Motivation at Work Scale (MAWS). Regarding career choice motivation, the majority of the participants put the emphasis on their passion to help the needed and the conscious occupation with people with special needs. According to the MAWS results, the participants’ motivation didn’t prove to be strong. The most motivated employees were those who work in special education. Participants proved to be more intrinsically motivated, whereas external motivation proved to be less important for them. The usefulness of the results lies in the fact that the knowledge of the motives for career choice and of the present level of work motivation can be beneficial for the recruitment and the retention of motivated professionals. The study can, also, provide a perspective for future research on motivation of professionals occupied with people with special needs.