UNDERSTANDING THE TEACHING PROFESSION

UNDERSTANDING THE TEACHING PROFESSION

Those who inted to teach should be aware of the trends that affect the work of classroom teacher, the issues that involve their status as profesionals, and how these concern change over time. In part 1, we look at the climate in which teachers operate today, observe how this climate affects both the act of teaching and the status of the teaching profession, and examine what teachers are doing to shape their future.

The first part of Chapter 1 examines why people choos to become teachers, the economic position and prestige of teachers, and the demand for teachers. We consider the basic decision to teach, we analyze salary trends, and we review the current and prospective job market for teachers.

In the second part of the chapter, the focus shifts to teacher preparation. Several queations arise: what is the appropiate mix of general or liberal education, specialization, and professional education courses for preparing effective teacher? How are teachers certified? What are the trends in teachers preparation programs? The chapter then describes recent concern with the quality of the teacher workforce and concludes by describing curent effort to improve the situation and quality of teachers.

Chapter 2 inquires whether teaching is fully a profession. After considering development and problems regarding the professional status of teachers, we describe recent trends and issues involving greater professionalism. Chapter 2 also describes a variety of teacher organizations and associations, among them the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.

Our portrayal of the teaching profession in the middle of the 1980s may be viewed as generally encouraging. On the one hand, teachers’ salaries and prestige are not as high as those of some other profession, and problems and pressures in the school can make theaching a stressful job. Teacher salaries have improved over the past two decades, but inflation has eliminated much of this gain in recent year. In addition, there has been a general oversupply of teachers, which constricts the job market for many prospective teachers.

On the other hand, during the next decade there probably will be a shortage of teachers, and salaries are likely to increase substantially. In addition, teachers are much better organized than they were in the past, and teaching has become more of a profession. As in previous eras, teachers enter the field because it privides an opportunity to help children learn and grow. Teaching should continue to be a rewarding field for persons interested in making this important contribution to society.

Source: Ornstein, Levine. An Introduction to the Foundations of Education. 1985. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.