"Creating space" and "losing face": barriers to and motivating factors for choosing teaching careers among Asian American pre-service teachers

Teachers of color are vastly underrepresented in the U.S. K-12 public school teacher workforce. Yet few studies have explored why teachers of color—particularly Asian Americans—decide to become teachers. This qualitative paper examines the barriers, drawbacks, and motivations to
join the teaching profession for seven Asian American pre-service teachers in a university-based teacher education program in California. Interviews and surveys revealed that pre-service teachers overcame many sociocultural barriers to becoming teachers, such as social
discouragement from family. Intrinsic and altruistic reasons, formative teaching-related experiences, and diversity and inclusion goals motivated them to enter the profession.