Analytical Framework

Social psychologists have long sought to address why individuals choose to engage in certain behaviors. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985) provides a model for understanding the formation of people’s decision making processes. This study seeks to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior to the question of “why foreigners teach English at the preschool level in Taiwan?” In particular, what TPB variables are significant in the creation of

the behavior intention to teach English in PPIs?

Behavior intentions are assumed to encapsulate the motivational factors that influence certain behaviors, actions, or decisions. The stronger the intention, the more likely someone is to engage in an act. The Theory of Planned Behavior posits that behavioral intentions are the direct antecedents to a behavior (Ajzen, 1991). If an individual has a strong intention to teach in a PPI they will likely try to do so.

The Theory of Planned Behavior is an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action (Figure 1) (Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1991). Originally propagated by Icek Ajzen and Martin Fishbein, the Theory of Reasoned Action discusses behavior intentions which are under volitional control of an actor through an assessment of the two variables; attitude and subjective norms (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975).

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Figure 1 the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975)

In regards to both the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Theory of Reasoned Action,

‘attitude’ refers to an individual’s positive and negative behavioral beliefs about an action, as well as an individual's outcome beliefs regarding said behavior. ‘Subjective norms’ refers to the perceived social pressure towards performing a certain action (Ajzen, 1988). In the event that an individual's attitude towards a behavior is positive, and normative pressures are pushing them towards a behavior, a behavior intention will likely be created. This is assuming a behavior is under an individual's volitional control.

Not all behaviors are within complete volitional control of an individual. For example having a positive attitude, and a supportive social network does not always give one the ability to become a professional athlete.

The Theory of Planned Behavior (Figure 2) was developed to address behavior intentions, while considering variables that are not entirely within a person's volitional control.

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The variable of perceived behavioral control was added to Theory of Reasoned Action creating the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1988; Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1991).

Figure 2 the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2006)

Perceived behavioral control relates to how difficult or easy performing a behavior is perceived as being. According to Ajzen (1985), perceived behavioral control is formed through a combination of past experiences and anticipated obstacles. Perceived behavioral control can also be influenced by access to the required resources in completing a task. The greater the resources an individual feels they possess (be them financial, physical, social, etc.) the greater the perceived control of a behavior (Ajzen, 1988; Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1991).

Typically, intentions to perform actions, be it wearing condoms, job seeking behaviors, or teaching preschool, should be strong when individuals exhibit positive attitudes towards a task, are supported in their task by social groups, and perceive a strong degree of behavioral control (Ajzen, 1988).

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2.1.1 Salient Beliefs

Salient Beliefs, or Accessible Beliefs, are key to both the Theory of Planned Behavior and its predecessor, the Theory of Reasoned Action. In layman's terms, Salient Beliefs are shared outcome ideas that surround a certain behavior (Ajzen 2006; Sutton et al. 2003). For example when considering rock climbing, ‘dangerous’ may be an idea that instantly comes to mind. Salient Beliefs are the beliefs of this nature which are shared within a large portion of the sample population. The Theory of Planned Behavior variables of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, consist of varying Salient Beliefs about the positive and negative outcomes of a behavior. When participating in any behavior one is thought to weigh the negative outcomes against the positive ones. The weights on this mental scale are Salient Beliefs.

In The Theory of Planned Behavior, Salient Beliefs, are the immediate ideas associated with the behavioral outcomes, normative outcomes, and barriers or enablers to a particular behavior. Therefore, Salient Beliefs fall into three categories: outcome beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs (Sutton et al. 2003). Outcome beliefs are the shared expected outcome of a behavior; for example, being paid wages via employment. Normative beliefs are the shared perceived social outcomes of a behavior. Your doctor approving of you quitting smoking for example. And, control beliefs are the shared perceived enablers and barriers to the successful completion of a behavior. For example, your ability to afford a gym membership when attempting to lose weight.

Salient Beliefs can be further organized into modal accessible beliefs, beliefs shared within a population, and personal accessible beliefs, beliefs believed to be individually based (Ajzen, 2002). In the case of NESTs teaching in Taiwan, a modal belief may be that it provides a comparatively high wage (Appendix: A), where as a personal belief would be “I’m too old to deal with children”. The methodologies for eliciting Salient Beliefs are discussed further in

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Chapter Three of this study.

This is a reverse TPB study. The behavior intention is always assumed to be positive as the entire sample has taught in a PPI. Therefore, this study focuses particularly on how the variables, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were present in the formation of the preexisting behavior intention.

Due to the Theory of Planned Behaviors extensive use in numerous topics, considerable meta-analysis has been conducted. Meta-analysis has concluded that TPB provides explanations for a wide range of behaviors (Ajzen, 1991; Armitage & Conner, 2001).