The Importance Of Professionalism And Core Professional Values For Teachers

The boundaries between the teaching role and other professional roles including points of referral to meet the needs of learners

Every profession has roles, responsibilities and boundaries; governed by copious legislation and directed through company policies/ procedures. These ensure objectives are met and identified persons can be made accountable for their functions. In the teaching/ learning sector however, roles can be blurred and legislation somewhat confusing, suggested by Holtrop (1997) “Obviously teachers wear many hats; friend, counsellor, judge, mentor, hundreds of roles and different roles for different classes, students and extracurricular duties”. Nonetheless, the protection and safety of individuals and groups is the fundamental principle, and can be broken down into three key areas;

A teachers primary role is to deliver information. The 2003 workload agreement (Woodward and Peart, 2013) not only defined the levels of work a teacher could reasonably expect but also defined the roles which would provide a framework of support to the specifics of the teaching role. Though this applies to secondary education the principles can inform teacher roles in the lifelong learning sector. A teacher must develop an awareness, understanding and professional respect of all the roles which support them in their efficacy. In the Institute of Learning's Code of Professional Conduct is states

Blatchford (2013) identifies that regarding professional conduct, a teacher is expected to show high standards, uphold public trust, act within the statutory frameworks, and have a proper and professional regard for ethos, policies and practices

Personal values and professional values run parallel in the social work field. Recognizing and managing your personal values while working with clients is an important task. Concentrating on your professional values is required for a social worker to assist her client to the best of her ability. During my internship there have been a number of cases that I have had to practice managing my personal values.

By the same token, the Policies of Professional Conduct and the Codes of Ethics have an emotional impact on the day-to-day activities of all teachers. My goal with this study is to review and condense

Gravells, A., 2012. Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector. 5th ed. London: Learning Matters.

“Learners will develop the values, commitments, and ethics that positively impact the educational community as well as the educator’s own professional growth.” (COE-GCU Framework, 2010).

Roles, responsibilities and boundaries are continuous qualities within my role as a tutor which are constantly assessed and reflected upon throughout the teaching/training cycle. According to Francis and Gould “The role of a teacher is not just to teach but to also be an evaluator, subject leader, manager of learning resources, curriculum developer, union member, personal tutor, assessor, information and advice giver, administrator, liaison with external body, record keeper, interviewer, verifier, role model and overall to help learners to gain a qualification.” The Teaching/Training cycle supports this theory by providing a structures process in which tutors can follow ensuring that all learners receive the best and consistent approach

Trainers must understand their legal duties, obligations, education policies and work-place specific policies. Teachers must follow good practice and continuous personal development in order to promote trust and maximise teaching value. This essay will help you complete your homework; of course using your own ideas and words!

There are many articles and books that refer to the teaching cycle and the associated roles and responsibilities of the teacher, most articles refer to either a four or five stage cycle. In this assignment I will cover the five stage cycle and concentrate on my role and responsibilities as a teacher in the lifelong learning sector.

It is extremely difficult to pick just one. However, if I had to choose just one, as a beginning teacher I would have to say professionalism. Professionalism will set you apart from being “some twenty something year old kid.” How you conduct yourself will set the tone for your reputation in the school, how your colleagues view you and it shows that you’re serious about your position. This will also set the stage for your classroom it is important that the person in charge sets a good example and becomes someone that the students can look up to. Consequences of not holding yourself to a professional standard could be catastrophic, not only would your students not listen to you, but they would lose respect for you. First of all you have to set

This argument analysis will be examining the article Professionalism, Teacher Efficacy and Standards-Based Education . The article examines and explains the consequences of organizing teaching in a blue-collar manner rather than as a professional endeavor. Overall, the article argues the reality of teaching profession not as the significant driver of educational innovation, research and policy; but it is the educators who end up shouldering most of the blame. It focuses mainly on professionalizing teaching as one of the important reasons to systematically engage in collaborative practices and using data to build efficacy. This analysis identifies the main assertions, the comparisons and evidences used to support these claims and the key perspectives. Sagor enumerates the key differences between professional and blue-collar pursuits and the optimistic implications of action research to the school improvement process. Finally, the assumptions underlying the article as are analyzed.

There has been a rapid increase in the ides of critical reflective practice over the last few decades, (Gould, 2004). Before we look at the value and purpose of reflective practice, it is important to take in account ‘reflective practice’ carries multiple meanings from the idea of professionals engaging in self-analysis to that of engaging in critical dialogue with others. For example, with reference to teacher education, Larrivee, (2000) argues that reflective practice is fusing together personal beliefs and values into a professional identity whereby critical reflection can take place without staying trapped in unexamined assumptions and expectations of our professional practice. Therefore, from this, it can be concluded that as a teaching professional, it is important to develop reflections on ones’ professional and pedagogic knowledge to set aspirational goals for a continuing personal and professional development, in other words, it is a way of life.

Mehta’s second justification for characterizing teachers as a “semi-profession” is teachers’ ineffectiveness in acting as “guardians of the public good”. For instance, because many other professions were increasingly perceived as more interested in protecting their members than in improving their practice, “education has been unable to convince the public that a specialized body of knowledge is required for teaching, authority, more than most professionals depends on a perceived commitment to helping their students.” (Mehta 2013:122). Consequently, it has also engendered a diminished protection of monopoly status and more market control. This is an issue because teachers are the ones that are truly making recurring ‘change’ happen in society. One of their most difficult tasks is the challenge of setting standards for practice because the growing fiscal state, fiscal responsibility and investor pressure has engendered more state and capital control.