Motivation to remain in the profession: the perception of university teachers

Abstract This qualitative study aimed to know the main aspects that motivate higher education teachers to stay in the career. The data were collected with 26 teachers, who pointed out the aspects perceived as essential for their permanence, which were grouped according to the principles of content analysis. Ten categories emerged, hierarchized by frequency: relationship with students; Continuing education; Taste / pleasure / satisfaction for teaching; Involvement with scientific research; salary; Social contribution of the action; Academic environment, autonomy, security / stability / prestige and challenges / knowledge sharing. The results were discussed in light of contemporary theories on motivational processes and converge with current literature on the subject. We believe that the categories that emerged as motives for the permanence of the teaching career can offer empirical supports that contribute to the establishment of correlations between individual, contextual factors and perceived motivation, useful in promoting the development and quality of teaching in Higher Education.