Professionalism as It Relates to the Role of the Teacher in the Pcet Sector

The Code of Professional Practice comes in support of all teachers as guidance to how to be a good teacher. In a continually changing society the profession of teaching is becoming more complex and important. In order to keep up with the changes, I need to ensure that I meet the highest possible standards. Following

I believe that most important indicators of professionalism that I possess are respect, accountability and tenacity. I show respect by listening, being fair, and following through. Instead of seeking to control children’s behavior, rather try to respect and understand it. Being accountable not only means being responsible for something but also ultimately being answerable for your actions. Being engaged as a teacher is important to professionalism because

What does it mean to become a professional? Well professionalism is key to becoming an admirable Early Childhood educator. Professionalism is built upon ones’ individual integrity, responsibility, and ethical practices that demonstrate a profound respect for all the children in their center as well as their families. We as professionals advocate for excellence in the early childhood programs as well as make decisions based upon their knowledge of the early childhood theories. Like I said before, I believe that a classroom should have some type of constructivist learning. It is important for the children to construct their own understanding and knowledge as well as experiencing what they learned and reflecting upon that.

The Code of Professional Practice comes in support of all teachers as guidance to how to be a good teacher. In a continually changing society the profession of teaching is

In Michael D. Bayles “The Professions”, Bayles describes the basic characteristics of a profession. Instead of providing a single definition Bayles instead defines the term profession based on three basic characteristics due to the complex meaning of the term. The three characteristics he identified that all professions must have include: extensive training, intellectual component included in the training, and must provide important service in society. Based on these characteristics that Bayles identifies I believe my profession of a teacher strongly correlates with Bayles definition of the term profession.

Avis et al (2010) state that historically, only occupations such as Doctors, Solicitors, the Clergy and Bank Managers were worthy of the title of being called a “Professional”. However they go on to say that this has changed over time to the point whereby much more diverse groups are describing themselves within the category of being professional to the point that the term becomes meaningless. That said, they do agree that a professional should hold a set of specific skills and knowledge that are gained through a certain amount of training and “should be used for the benefit of society”. Teachers, lecturers and trainers clearly fit within this remit. Scales (2008) lists professionalism as one of the traits of an effective teacher. He goes on the say that professionalism is multi-faceted, citing the way teachers behave, look, the way interact with their students, how they talk and how they prepare and plan their work all form what he believes makes a professional.

As a governing body for the school districts the expectation of professionalism is mandatory. Professionalism encompasses the characteristics of accountability, promise keeping, trustworthiness, objectivity and responsibility all of which should be exemplified by all employees (Kleiner, 1997). Professionalism is not only distinguished in the level of competency an employee possesses, but also in the manner in which they conduct themselves as representatives of the organization.

Whilst touching upon the responsibilities with reference to the LLUK standard, in terms of their code of practice regarding professionalism within the role of a teacher, in connection to what it means for a new entrant, from the requisites of ‘Developing Professional

Defining the concept of professionalism and how it is achieved is a matter of much in- depth discussion which has taken place over recent years due to some major policy changes in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS). There are essentially two ends of the spectrum; one which is aiming to enforce professionalism from the perimeter of the teaching profession through the use of policies. The other train of thought believes that professionalism should emanate from inside the teaching profession itself suggesting that teachers should become more like doctors and lawyers. In order to analyse the various issues which arise from the whole professionalism discussion, it is necessary to look at the wider implications of this concept in terms of one’s own professional conduct and accountability as a practitioner in the LLS. The latter term dominates discussion along with teachers’ responsibilities, quality and dual professionalism within the ever changing and complex role of a tutor. In this assignment I will examine what has become a paradoxical relationship between professionalism and teaching and look at my own experience as a part time hourly paid Literacy lecturer at

The first article I read spoke to what is expected from ECE’s and how they view themselves as professionals. It also addresses the difficulty in defining what an ECE needs to be because of the children involved. Wisdom is needed and is key to working with children for the long term and the article address, how do you convey this? There needs to be a presence when working with children, that you are there to care for them, but you also know what you are doing. How do you define that in terms of a profession? Most of the ECE’s who reported what they believed made them professional, reported aspects that reflected themselves as a person. The article highlights the difference in responses from the participants, and also how each response is valid. The article moves towards the fat that professionalism within the workplace is a balance of experience and schooling spread between the workers.

Marxists also strongly believe that “the hidden curriculum” is being used too strongly by schools. By teaching pupils to follow instructions (e.g. “sir” and “miss” and folding their arms) they are preparing them for the “exploitation” during work of when being asked to do something and then automatically doing it. This means that workers could be “used” in the process and then fined out about the capitalist system that we live in the hard way. While Marxists do share many ideas of functionalists e.g. the fact that education prepares us for out acceptance of the values of society they also see how the education system is alienating children. Functionalists, on the other hand, seem unable to see this and believe that the education system can only do well to children by teaching them norms and values.

In this assignment, I will review the debate on professionalism. Looking at the teacher as a professional and discussing their professionalism. I will highlight the differences and the similarities between professionalism in education and several other professional vocations. I will discuss the shifting views of professional status of both mainstream teachers and FE teachers, and developments and where I see the FE sector heading.

Professionalism was a great way to start the unit; this topic has giving me the chance to understand the responsibilities that teachers have to students and their parents. On beginning this topic I believed that professionalism was about ethics and how teachers conducted themselves in and out of the classroom. However while this is

What is a profession? First and foremost let’s look at how we can define a profession from a general point. A profession is an occupation requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation. Profession doesn’t mean only to be perfectly prepared on the basis of theoretical aspects, but to meet the strict criteria as well. A good professional should be a leader and leadership means solving problems. Leaders can be assessed according to the amount of resolved problems. Everybody has a tendency to be successful, in trying this; a successful leader has to be confident in his decisions. It follows from that, that generally we can consider the leader as an expert, a matured personality, somebody who meets the high

Students are only pushed as far as the teacher is willing to shove, strictly metaphorically speaking teachers need to not only act professional but lead professional lives. Teachers are perhaps one of if the most overworked, underpaid, and under appraised professions in the modern world. Yet, educators can and do influence more lives every year than most careers in a lifetime. Heber’s story, while a bit crude