The Role of Teacher Professionalism in Education
Teacher professionalism has relevant significance in education
in that it affects the role of the teacher and his or her pedagogy, which
in return affects the student’s ability to learn effectively. It can
be defined as the ability to reach students in a meaningful way, developing
innovative approaches to mandated content while motivating, engaging, and
inspiring young adult minds to prepare for ever-advancing technology.
However, this definition does little to exemplify precisely how a professional
teacher carries himself or herself. Due to the growing autonomy being
given to educators, professionalism remains one of the most influential attributes
of education today. Teacher professionalism contains three essential
characteristics, competence, performance, and conduct, which reflect the
educator’s goals, abilities, and standards, and directly impact the effectiveness
of teaching through the development of these qualities.
To begin, the characteristic of competence is fundamental
in an educator’s pursuit of excellence. A discussion on competence
focuses on three important ideas: preparation, knowledge of subject area,
and defined pedagogy. The first, preparation, prepares the professional
for the adversity of the classroom. From language and cultural barriers
to socio-economic differences, all educators face deterrents in the classroom
that must be broken down by individualized techniques. “Decision making
by well-trained professionals allows individual clients’ needs to be met
more precisely and…promotes continual refinement and improvement in overall
practice” (Darling-Hammond, 1988, p. 59). Thus, by bridging these barriers,
the educator will be better prepared for classroom management and create
an effective learning environment. Furthermore, by doing this, the
professional teacher leads students by his or her example: one who is prepared
for difficulties will be able to overcome them.
Along with preparation, a professional educator with a
strong knowledge of his/her subject area has the opportunity to concern themselves
with preparing innovative techniques to teach material rather than spending
significant amounts of time studying the material. With the advantage
of knowing one’s curriculum material well, the educator has more confidence
in their teachings, having already placed significant thought on the material
being taught. Thus, a professional is able to dwell on how to relate
subject matter to the students and their cultures in an original method.
The final portion of competence is discovering and assuming
a defined pedagogy. A professional teacher who has a defined pedagogy
has already journeyed through several trials to discover which pedagogical
techniques are most effective. According to Lunenburg and Ornstein
(2000), “Hiring teachers by subject and skill presumes that curricular priorities
have been established, which means that decisions have been made about how
much time will be devoted to each segment of the curriculum” (p. 9).
Although this may take years to fine-tune, a professional is willing to self-evaluate
his or her pedagogy as s/he develops it, revise their edification when deemed
necessary, and apply one’s ideas to a practical situation. Furthermore,
by acquiring a defined pedagogy, a professional creates more autonomy for
him or herself, allowing for a partial release from the constraints constructed
by the administration, school board, or parents.
Although competence is essential to teacher professionalism,
it is only useful if the educator is able to perform. Performance is
the ability to effectively teach the concepts of a curriculum. However,
this is performance defined at its most fundamental level. “As individuals,
professionals have the right to perform their work as they see fit, based
on knowledge acquired through specialized training” (Newman, 1998, p. 121).
Such a quote demonstrates the essentiality of performance, which derives
from both premeditated and improvisational techniques. A professional
teacher educates so that students learn concepts and apply them to their
lives. Although this undermines the school’s emphasis on state test
results, a quality educator prepares for the tests through this unique style
of applying to his/her students’ lives. Thus, the application of these
concepts must be inside the bounds of students’ lives. Furthermore,
an educator that has a high standard of performance is reliable and dedicated.
This type of educator becomes an active teacher rather than a passive teacher,
showing the students a genuine interest in their progress as a student.
The final characteristic of teacher professionalism, conduct,
is equally as significant as the first two. The manner in which an
educator carries himself or herself is a reflection on one’s classroom, school,
community, and educational system. Conduct is a representation of how
well one takes care of himself or herself, from aesthetics to language and
behavior. However, these are minor qualities of conduct. Conduct
also includes one’s ability to initiate and maintain quality communication
with all the parties involved in education: students, fellow teachers, school
board, administration, and parents. It is through energetic communication
by a professional that initiates understanding, whether it be a student grasping
their potential or the professional voicing their displeasure on a newly
implemented regulation. A professional teacher desires to locate effective
communicative skills to achieve preferred educational goals.
In conclusion, a completed definition of teacher professionalism
far exceeds the simple notion that a teacher be prepared in a certain manner.
A professional is trained to handle all situations, as most episodes in the
classroom require quick thinking. Also, teacher professionalism extends
beyond one’s ability to understand content; the educator must discover if
the students are being reached in an effective way. With the role of
“teacher” becoming more autonomous, an educator must be competent in their
studies, perform well under the eye of the administration and parents, while
maintaining good conduct to facilitate quality communication
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