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.

MOTIVES FOR BECOMING A TEACHER

MOTIVES FOR BECOMING A TEACHER

There are many motives, both idealistic and practical, for choosing a career in teaching. Their motives may include (1) a love of children, (2) a desire to impart knowladge, (3) an interest in and excitement about teaching, and (4) a desire to perform a valuable service to society. Other reasons may include (1) job security and pension benefit, (2) relatively short working days and long vacations, (3) the relative ease of preparing for teaching, compared with other professions, and (4) the ability to earn a reasonable income while preparing for another profession.

As a prospective teacher, an awareness of the importance of the decision to enter the teaching field is essential. Your reasons for choosing teaching as a career will undoubtedly affect your attitude and behavior with your reasons for wanting to teach, it might be helpful for you to consider what motivated others to become teachers.

A nationwide stratified sample of 1.533 teachers contcted in 1971 by the National Education Association (NEA) listed the major reasons they decided to enter the profession. The main reason is a desire to work with young people. Almost 72 percent of the respondents gave this choice as one of their three major reasons. Next highest response was the value of education to society with 37 percent. It was mentioned by 57 percent of the secondary teachers, compared by the NEA in 1976 yielded almost identical result. A 1980 study of high school seniors also found that the main reason for selesting teaching as a career is the desire to help children and youth.

STRESS AND COPING

Like other occupations, teaching has its difficult and stressful moments. This conclusion was underscored in a 1979 study conducted for the American Academy of Family Physicians. The Academy surveyed six different groups as part of a study on lifestyle and health care in differing occupations: business executives, physicians, farmers, garment workers, secretaries, and teachera Included in the study were 501 teachers.

One of the questions asked was, “How stressful is your work environment?” Sixty-three percent of the teachers answered “usually” or “always”, as compared with 81 percent of the executives, 65 percent of the physicians, 38 percent of the farmers, 44 percent of the garment workers, and 61 percent of the secretaries. It should not be inferred, however, that stress is necessarily a negative job characteristic. Challenging jobs are bound to involve a significant amount of stress, and many people feel that challenge is desirable as long as stress is manageable. Thus, although 81 percent of executives said their jobs were usually or always stressful, 93 percent said they liked their work. Conversely, althaough only 44 percent of the garment workers said their jobs usually or always or always involved stress, only 75 percent said they liked their jobs.

Evidence that accumulated in the letter part of the 1970s indicated that elementary and secondary teaching has become more stressful than it was in earlier periods and that greater stress is causing burnout among some teachers. One definition of burnout makes it simply synonymous with “physical, emotional, and attitudinal exhaustion. Authorities on burnout believe that it disproportionately strikes persons in the “helping” professions such as counselors, social workers, perole officers, and teachers.

The emphasis in recent years has been to encourage professionals who experience stress to develop a variety of coping techniques. Counselors point out that exercise, rest, hobbies, good nutrition, meditation or other relaxation techniques, efficient scheduling of personal affairs, and vacations can help individuals cope with high-stress jobs. Recommendations for avoiding burnout also sdvise teachers to participate in professional renewal activities, separate their jobs from home life, and try to maintain flexibility and an open-minded attitude towars change. Activities or projects undertaken by professional organizations and school districts to help teachers avoid burnout include an effort in Chicago to train volunteers to conduct rap sessions for teachers, a program of counseling and possible leaves of absence for teachers experiencing stress sponsored by the Tuscon Education Association, and Prevention and Management of Educational Stress workshops conducted by the Northwest staff Development Center in Wayne Country, Michigan.

Knowledge Management Practices Applying Corporate in Higher Education

Knowledge Management Practices Applying Corporate in Higher Education

Colleges and universities have significant opportunities to apply nowledge anagement practices to support every part of their mission


Are The Concepts Of Knowledge management (KM) applicable to colleges and niversities? Some would argue that sharing knowledge is their raison d’être. If hat is the case, then the higher education sector should be replete with examples of nstitutions that leverage knowledge to spur innovation, improve customer service, or achieve operational excellence. However, although some examples exist, they are the exception rather than the rule. Knowledge management is a new field, and experiments are just beginning in higher education.

We believe there is tremendous value to higher education institutions that develop initiatives to share knowledge to achieve business objectives. This article
outlines the basic concepts of knowledge management as it is applied in the corporate sector, considers trends, and explores how it might be applied in higher education and whether higher education is ready to embrace it.

Knowledge Basics

Knowledge management is the process of transforming information and intellectual assets into enduring value. It connects people with the knowledge that they need to take action, when they need it. In the corporate sector, managing knowledge is considered key to achieving breakthrough competitive advantage.

But what is knowledge? Knowledge starts as data—raw facts and numbers—for example, the market value of an institution’s endowment. Information is data put into context—in the same example, the endowment per student at a particular institution. Information is readily captured in documents or in databases; even large amounts are fairly easy to retrieve with modern information technology systems.

Before acting on information, however, we need to take one more step. Only when information is combined with experience and judgment does it become knowledge. Knowledge can be highly subjective and hard to codify. It includes the insight and wisdom of employees. It may be shared through emailed “best practices” memos or even sticky notes on a cubicle wall. And once we have knowledge, we can put it to work and apply it to decision making.

A popular framework for thinking about knowledge proposes two main types of knowledge: explicit and tacit (see Figure 1).1 Explicit knowledge is documented information that can facilitate action. It can be expressed in formal, shared language. Examples include formulas, equations, rules, and best practices.
Explicit knowledge is:
• Packaged
• Easily codified
• Communicable
• Transferable
Tacit knowledge is know-how and learning embedded within the minds of the people in an organization. It involves perceptions, insights, experiences, and craftsmanship. Tacit knowledge is:
• Personal
• Context-specific
• Difficult to formalize
• Difficult to communicate
• More difficult to transfer
Most business actions require the guidance of both explicit and tacit knowledge.

How does knowledge work in organizations? Knowledge originates in individuals, but it is embodied in teams and organizations, as shown in Figure 1. In an organization, examples of explicit knowledge are strategies, methodologies,
processes, patents, products, and services. Examples of tacit knowledge in an organizational context are skills and competencies, experiences, relationships within and outside the organization, individual beliefs and values, and ideas.

Knowledge also is embedded in work processes, and it exists in all core functions
of an organization as well as in its systems and infrastructure. Effective knowledge management programs identify and leverage the know-how embedded in work, with a focus on how it will be applied. The challenge in knowledge management is to make the right knowledge available to the right people at the right time.

New Trends in Knowledge

Management Several trends will shape the field of knowledge management in the not-toodistant future:
• Emerging technology solutions
• The convergence of knowledge management with e-business
•The movement from limited knowledge management projects to more enterprisewide projects
• Increasing use of knowledge management to enhance innovation
• Increasing use of tacit knowledge (rather than explicit knowledge)

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

Lotus Notes, the software that packaged e-mail with data repositories and basic collaborative tools, was the first catalyst for knowledge management. Since Notes, most KM applications (including later versions of Notes) have migrated to
intranet-friendly, Web-based platforms. Currently available solutions for search and retrieval, e-mail, collaboration, and soforth are much better today than they were even a year ago. However, no single application does all of these things well.

It is likely that the next “killer application” for knowledge management will be the corporate portal—a gateway to applications that integrate collaborative tools, business intelligence, and unstructured text search capabilities. Portals started as a way to organize a variety of Web-based information sources on one desktop interface: a search tool, news feeds, links to favorite Web sites, content organized by topic, and so forth. Corporate portals do the same thing, allowing users to customize their desktops to show information from a variety of sources within the organization (and usually from outside the firewall as well).

Some universities are already making use of the corporate portal concept. For example, one major state university system is developing Web-based portals to deliver integrated services previously addressed in a very disaggregated fashion.
The business objectives of the first portal—for the university’s central administration—include institutional marketing, creating brand identity, building community with prospective students and parents, becoming the gateway for finding information about university resources and programs, and providing a rich information environment for decision making. The portal serves
multiple functions for multiple customers with one tool.

Development of a second, similar portal supports the vision of a new intercampus collaborative for teaching and learning with technology. That vision
calls for uniting the collective interests and goals of the campuses in the system in nurturing excellence in the use of technology for teaching and learning. The portal will improve the efficiency of knowledge exchange and deliver a set of shared business objectives that include communications around best practices, a
gateway to research on the use of teaching and learning through technology, professional development, policy development and review, and resource development.
The portal provides the faculty members at the individual campuses with efficient, direct links to current knowledge about teaching and learning through technology among the campuses of the university system, nationally, and internationally.

CONVERGENCE WITH E-BUSINESS

The trend toward portals as the technology tool of choice for knowledge leads to another trend: the convergence of knowledge management and e-business. One reason for this trend is that the Web-based technologies that support ebusiness are now being applied to support KM (and vice versa). A more powerful reason is that both disciplines are about creating conversations, sharing knowledge, and building communities. Knowledge management has been about breaking down barriers within the organization, and e-business has been about breaking down barriers between the organization and its customers.

A major application of the convergence of e-business and knowledge management will be in managing businessto-business customer relationships. Extending the organization’s communities to include the customer in the generation and exchange of knowledge promises to be an effective competitive advantage.

FROM LIMITED PROJECTS TO HOLISTIC PROGRAMS

As knowledge management matures as a corporate discipline, more companies will gravitate toward a more holistic approach to KM. Research shows that although many companies have begun to develop some sort of knowledge management capability, very few (6 percent) have implemented knowledge management programs on an enterprisewide scale. Over the past two or three years, a company could be recognized as a best-practice exemplar of knowledge management by having a single successful initiative—for having developed a robust intranet, for instance, or initiating communities of practice or redesigning a core business process around knowledge sharing.

This early tendency to focus on one type of initiative has fueled the debate between experts advocating a technocentric approach to knowledge management and those advocating a learning-centric approach. Organizations are already realizing that it does no good to have robust technology solutions if the existing culture prevents knowledge sharing, and conversely that it does little good to have pockets of robust knowledge sharing without some technological means of making knowledge widely accessible.

As organizations share their lessons learned about implementing knowledge management programs, some are discovering the interdependent nature of KM capabilities. They are finding that a balanced portfolio of knowledge management initiatives yields the best results and that excelling at technology-related capabilities does not preclude excelling at people- or process-related capabilities. (In fact, excelling in one area may well depend on excelling in another.)

MOVING FROM BEST PRACTICES TO INNOVATION

A March 2000 Conference Board survey report indicated that most knowledge management programs are still focused on creating repositories for storing and diffusing best practices, focusing on operational excellence and cost reduction.2 While many companies have earned a significant payback from these efforts, the real payoff may lie in applying knowledge management to spur innovation. Nokia is a good example of a company that has applied knowledge management
to encourage innovation in its R&D and product development functions. The company uses knowledge management practices to make sense of market trends and customer requirements and quickly puts that knowledge into action in the product development pipeline. Industry analysts report that Nokia delivers a new mobile communication product about every 25 days.

ADVANCES IN WORKING WITH TACIT KNOWLEDGE

Explicit knowledge, which consists of formulas, equations, rules, and best practices, is easier to work with than tacit knowledge, which involves perceptions, experiences, and insights because it can be recorded, stored in databases, and transported easily. The problem is that it is a little too portable—if you have it today, your competitors will likely have it tomorrow. And in any case, the mechanics of managing explicit knowledge are sufficiently well known that it will not provide a lasting competitive advantage.

The ability to manage tacit knowledge, on the other hand, promises to deliver huge returns for organizations that learn to use it effectively. The reason is that in the most valuable knowledge-intensive businesses—software development, say, or product design—the difference between a good performer and the best performer is huge. And the difference that matters most lies in tacit knowledge: a deep understanding of how to act on knowledge effectively.

Applying KM in Higher Education

Using knowledge management techniques and technologies in higher education is as vital as it is in the corporate sector. If done effectively, it can lead to better decision-making capabilities, reduced “product” development cycle time (for example, curriculum development and research), improved academic and administrative services, and reduced costs.

Consider the number of faculty and staff who possess institutional knowledge. For example, what institution does not have a faculty member who has led successful curriculum revision task forces? Or a departmental secretary who knows how to navigate the complex proposal development or procurement processes? Or a researcher who has informal connections to the National Science Foundation? Or a special assistant to the president who has uncovered (or generated) useful reports that individual deans or department chairs could use to
develop their own strategic plans?

Relying on the institutional knowledge of unique individuals can hamper the flexibility and responsiveness of any organization. The challenge is to convert the information that currently resides in those individuals and make it widely and easily available to any faculty member, staff person, or other constituent.

An institutionwide approach to knowledge management can lead to exponential improvements in sharing knowledge—both explicit and tacit—and the subsequent surge benefits. Tables 1 through 5 illustrate how knowledge management applications could benefit a number of university processes and services: the research process, curriculum development process, student and alumni services, administrative services, and strategic planning.

Is higher education ready to embrace knowledge management? A key ingredient
in an institution’s readiness to embrace knowledge management is its culture—the beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors that are unique to an organization. Informally, it is the unwritten rules or “how things really get done.”3 Higher education is moving from the old culture that considers, “What’s in it for me?” to a new culture that says, “What’s in it for our customer?” And it is developing a culture that is ready to embrace knowledge management.

As institutions launch knowledge management initiatives, they can learn lessons
from their counterparts in the corporate sector. Some key points to remember are:
• Start with strategy. Before doing anything else, determine what you want to accomplish with knowledge management.
• Organizational infrastructure—human resources, financial measurements of success, and information technology—should support knowledge management. Think of technology as an enabler, and measure the impact of KM in financial terms, such as cost reductions, customer satisfaction, and speed to market.
• Seek a high-level champion for the initiative—someone who believes in its benefits and who can advocate as needed.
• Select a pilot project for knowledge management —ideally one with high impact on the organization but of low risk to build credibility for knowledge management. If possible, make the pilot one that participants will enjoy and find rewarding.
• Develop a detailed action plan for the pilot that defines the process, the IT infrastructure, and the roles and incentives of the pilot project team.
• After the pilot, assess the results and refine the action plan.

Summary

Colleges and universities have significant opportunities to apply knowledge management practices to support every part of their mission—from education to public service to research. Knowledge management should not strike higher education institutions as a radically new idea; rather, it is a new spin on their raison d’être. But implementing knowledge management practices wisely is a lesson that the smartest organizations in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors are learning all over again.

Endnotes:
1. T. M. Koulopoulos and C. Frappaolo, Smart Things to Know about Knowledge Management (Dover, NH: Capstone US, 1999); M. Polanyi, The Tacit Dimension (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1967).
2. B. Hackett, Beyond Knowledge Management: New Ways to Work (New York: The Conference
Board, March 2000).
3. Ibid.
© 2001 Jossey-Bass Inc.

DEVELOPMENTAL AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

DEVELOPMENTAL AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

As a child grows into an adult, different aspects of his physical, emotional and mental self needs development. To help a child reach his full potential, it is necessary to recognize the child's developmental needs and abilities. To be effective, after school programs should assist children with tasks they must accomplish during each stage of development.

A child's growth curve can be divided into three main parts:

1) Young child (ages 3-5)

2) Middle school (ages 6-8)

3) Older school (ages 9-12)

The four important domains of development are: The Physical Domain, the Social Domain, the Emotional Domain and the Intellectual Domain. Each of these domains needs to be separately addressed during the various phases of a child's growth. After school programs should concentrate on developing each domain as applicable to the age of the child. Although the children participating in these programs may have similar developmental needs and age, do not expect development to be uniform. Children will develop as and when they are ready.

Physical Domain:

When children are young, they want to perfect skills that they have just learnt to control. A variety of movements such as jumping, catching and throwing delight them. The middle school child, on the other hand, wants to learn more complex skills and get involved in team sports. This is also the best time to learn about rules and discipline in sport. The older school child is ready for more adult-like activities that need greater structure and discipline, like dancing, gymnastics, music classes etc.

Social Domain:

Young children are observing others and will be interested in games where they play the roles of family members. They develop short-term friendships and need an adult's presence to assure them. The middle school child is intrigued by society and will love trips to factories, public buildings etc. They want to know the 'how' and 'why' of things. The older school child is ready to learn about different cultures, food and customs. They want to do some amount of social work too.

Intellectual Domain:

Young school children will practice what they are learning. Middle school children want to learn more skills and will show interest in reading, drama and problem solving. The older school children are ready to research and probe. They enjoy getting a puzzle and pondering over it.

Any after school program needs to address the interests of the child depending on the category he belongs to. Knowing the children in your program and appreciating their needs and interests will help staff to plan and structure programs that are most useful to that group.

EFFECTIVE AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

When there are so many activities on offer, and each one looks as good as the next, how do you gauge the worth and effectiveness of these activities? Sure, you want an activity that junior enjoys. But, we really cannot afford to waste time on pleasure for pleasure's sake, do we? There needs to be a grain of gold somewhere in there. Given below is a list of characteristics that any good after school activity must possess.

Clarity in objectives and goals is the first important thing. What does the course offer? How does it propose to achieve the results? How many kids make up a batch? Ask questions. After all, when you are dishing out the dough, you really need to understand what you are getting in return.

A good after school activity will provide lots of opportunities for the young to increase their level of understanding of complex concepts. This is true of recreational activities too. Learning to pitch a ball, or dance to a tune - regardless of the activity involved, the child should be encouraged to grapple with and conquer new concepts. This not only keeps boredom at bay by challenging the child, but also builds up his self-confidence. Development of academic, personal and social skills is one of the prime aims of an after school activity. As the skills develop, the child's self-esteem also increases.

After school activities are all about boosting a child's sense of competence. Good and effective after school activities promotes the resilience of youth and encourages them to grow stronger, be it mentally, emotionally or physically.

Safety is one of the first requirements of an after school activity. The staff should be qualified, adequate and alert. Never put your child in a program where safety is a matter of accident instead of a matter of priority. The staff should be friendly and should have a positive relationship with the child. Therefore, the program should have professional and trained staff that loves to interact with children. The program should maintain a cooperative and supportive attitude and a structured environment. Participation and collaboration as opposed to competition and antagonism must be encouraged.

Some programs involve the children in planning activities and making decisions. Adults often forget to get the opinion of their children. By giving the children an opportunity to voice their opinion, programs become fun activities that children are motivated to participate in. Young people thrive when they are listened to, respected and allowed to contribute their mite.

Routine evaluations are an important part of after school programs. If the child does not benefit from a class, don't waste time being over-optimistic. Try something new.

You are now ready to look for the perfect after school activity for your child. But don't let us forget that having fun is also an important part of growing up. The child deserves a few hours of pure delight. Remember, all work and no play, ……

BORING AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

BORING AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Why does Lisa grumble when it is time for her to go for her piano lessons? How come Johnny abhors the sight of his skates now? After all, these children were very enthusiastic about the programs when they started off. What happened? Parents are often confused by the disturbing and often incongruous signals they receive from their children. One day the kids are excited about the new theatre class and in just a few short weeks they wail and moan when it's time to go.

The first thing a family should do when a child begins resisting a previously loved activity is to listen and investigate. Do not jump into conclusions. A little bit of intelligent sleuthing is required. Ask your child what he or she does in the class. Find out what exactly is the cause of the problem. Then ask the teachers the same questions. Compare notes. You may stumble on some important clues. Usually, children start out on an activity thinking it's all fun. But when they realize that they cnnot just hang out and that they need to follow rules etc, they begin to resist. Your child may feel stifled if the program is too structured. If the discipline is too rigorous or the activity too painful (like a karate class) some children balk. Use your own instincts. Does the program feel like fun? Would you want to attend it yourself? Are they offering enough motivation to keep the child interested?

The teacher-to-child ratio is also an important factor. Children need attention. If the number of teachers is just enough to handle a class, it is possible that your child is not receiving enough attention. State recommendations usually specify that there must be 1 teacher for 15 children.

Children try to avoid problems they cannot solve. If there are no perceivable problems with the class and the teachers, perhaps you need to have a chat with your child. If your judgment says that the place is good and the activity engaging enough, then it's time to work with your child. More often than not, social pressures may be at work here. Does your child have friends there? If she is lonely or miserable because of the lack of friends, help her find a friend. If she finds a friend, she will get more involved in the activities

If your best efforts do not pay off, and your child still resists that fantastic guitar classes, then it's time to let go. Shift your child to some other program. If he or she still retains interest in guitars, you can take it up after a few months. Never force the child, especially when it comes to extra-curricular activities. Since they are 'extra', they must bring in extra happiness and extra enthusiasm too.