Classrooms in Ireland are characterised by racial and ethnic diversity, yet teachers are drawn from the dominant ethnic majority (Smyth et al., 2009). Empirical research has mainly focused on the factors that have influenced the career choices of student teachers and teachers. However, as emphasised by Watt et al. (2012), it is equally important to consider why students choose not to teach. This research study explores 5th year post-primary students’ motivations and perceptions concerning teaching as a choice of career from diverse racial, ethnic or cultural backgrounds. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods research (MMR) approach was employed in this study (quanàQUAL). The Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) scale (Watt & Richardson, 2007) was adapted in the design of the Motivational Assessment Instrument. This study involved a questionnaire survey and focus-group interviews within four post-primary schools in one geographical area in South Dublin County. Questionnaire surveys (N=155) were utilised to identify students’ socio-demographic backgrounds and their motivations and perceptions concerning teaching as a choice of career. Later, focus group interviews (N=23) further explored the hybridised identity of post-primary students and their perceptions of becoming a teacher. This doctoral research study involved post-primary students from ethnically or culturally diverse backgrounds, where 61% of participants indicated an ethnicity other than White Irish. Participants were born in eighteen different countries and a total of thirty-nine distinct nationalities were recorded in the study, including twenty-two dual Irish nationalities. This MMR study revealed that 63% of students reported their disinterest in becoming a teacher and 53% would not consider a career in teaching. This thesis study suggests that students from minority-ethnic backgrounds are less motivated than students from White Irish backgrounds to choose teaching as a career for the following five primary reasons: (1) the influence of family members; (2) encouragement from others to consider alternative careers; (3) teacher salary and the ‘hard work’ associated with teaching; (4) the level of Irish requirement for primary ITE and (5) the notable ‘diversity gap’ (Boland & Keane, 2012) within the teaching profession.