Teaching as a Profession

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Teaching as a Profession
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• Why do the authors include a story about
  Southwest Airlines in this chapter?

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What is a Profession?

• Provides essential services
• Unique body of knowledge
• Decisions made on the basis of body of knowledge
  (theory/concepts)
• Public trust
• Individual freedom and autonomy

• Professional organizations control work and
  conditions
• Performance standards for admission determined by
  profession
• Induction requires preparation
• Accountable to profession, not supervisor

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Why is teaching not (completely) a profession?

• History
• Gender
• Multiple routes
• Public Perception

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History

• Until after the Civil War, you only went to
  college to become
• A lawyer
• A minister
• A doctor

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History

• Normal Schools
• Reverend Samuel Hall established the first normal
  school in Vermont in 1823.
• Horace Mann helps establish a state supported
  normal school in Massachusetts in 1839.
• Not really college two years of training
• As public schools grew, so did the importance and
  prestige of normal schools.

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History

• The 1980s Today
• Increased emphasis on rigorous teacher training
• A Nation Prepared called for M.A. to be minimum
  degree required of teachers.
• Board-Certified Teachers
• (NBPTS)
• Advanced designation for master teachers
  rigorous requirements

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Gender

• As normal schools develop, teaching becomes
  increasingly feminized.
• Why?
• Womans Work. Deals with caring for children.
• Not intellectually serious
• One of the few professional avenues open
• Not rewarded with status and pay.
• Contemporary Gender Issues?

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Multiple Routes

• Traditional Routes
• Alternative Licensure
• Teach for America

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Public Perception

• Teaching is easy
• Teachers only work nine months out of the year
• Anyone could be a teacher
• A good fall back job

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Why does professional status matter?

• Pay
• Status
• Autonomy