Factors influencing the selection of university studies in early childhood education

This research analyzes the factors that may influence the moment in which students opt for university studies oriented to Early Childhood Education teaching. An exploratory and descriptive cross-sectional research was designed, under a nonexperimental quantitative approach and with a nonprobabilistic convenience sampling. A total of 157 university students from public and private institutions participated in the study, which was conducted using a questionnaire with 4 dimensions and 31 items. The vast majority agreed that the Early Childhood Education stage is important for children's development, this being the most important factor when opting for university studies leading to teaching at this stage. It is concluded that intrinsic motivations are the most influential on students, although the family and close context can also be determinant.