"The present study attempted to explore teaching motivation of elementary school teachers. Subjects included 95 elementary school teachers, and it was put a question to them, ""Why do teaching activities occur?"" Nineteen teaching motivations were extracted from 445 responses. Nineteen teaching motivations were classified according to structural resemblances in four upper motivation by the discussion between researcher and fourteen elementary school teachers. Economy, compensation, recognition, self-sufficiency, display, superiority, and growth motivation were classified in instrumental motivation; inherence, nature, pity, and support motivation in voluntary motivation; social, share, and communication motivation in relational motivation; and correction, duty, transmission, situation, and efficiency motivation in ethical motivation. Finally, it is proposed that teaching motivation should further be structured hierarchically and teaching motivation questionnaire should be developed. key words: motivation for selecting teaching profession, teaching motivation"