Spanish Teacher Education Students’ Values and Satisfaction with Life

Abstract

The main purposes of this study were to describe teacher education students’ values and degree of satisfaction with life, to analyze whether any differences by educational program, gender or living standard and to analyze the association between values and satisfaction with life. A total of 565 students of teacher degree programs (girls 415 (73.5%)) answered a self-administered questionnaire composed by two validates scales about their values (Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) and satisfaction with life (Satisfaction with Life Scale)). The results showed that the most important values were self-direction, benevolence and hedonism, while the least important values were power, tradition and achievements. Females reported higher importance for benevolence, universalism, self-direction, stimulation, hedonism and security. Males reported higher importance for power. Students who live with family reported also more high values for power. Concerning satisfaction with life, it was associated to higher values of power. Current intervention programs have focused different approaches by gender and living standard. Programs focus on increasing satisfaction with life should consider the values structure of students.