Discussion Essay: Characteristics Of Teaching As A Profession

Teaching as a Profession

Until the twentieth century, teachers had very little preparation and training to becoming an educator. Teacher training typically involved one to two years at a teacher’s college before being employed at a local school, where teachers had to follow strict rules and regulations- even outside of the school. However, teachers have recently been working hard towards being professionals in their fields and they have earned the right to be judged on their success at work, rather than their behavior outside of the school. For the greater good of society, teachers have been striving to reach a full professional status.

Characteristics of a Profession

According to the text, the characteristics of a full profession are:

1. Public

Although teacher preparation varies, the three main components remain the same- general education, specialized education (one’s major or minor), and professional education. These components are recognized by most educators as being the major components in teacher preparation, but some may think otherwise and argue that a teacher’s preparation is linked to their performance. Many educators are working towards integrating a uniform sense of knowledge into a set of national standards. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) sets standards to determine the teacher education programs that meet national standards in preparing future teachers who will soon enter a classroom. According to the NCATE, well prepared graduates are less likely to leave the teaching field, which also cuts attrition rates in half. Since the NCATE standards are so strongly supported, especially by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), they are becoming the “norm” in teacher education and

Mediated entry is the process of inducting people into a profession through stages that help teach them how to apply professional knowledge in the work place. Before mediated entry the attrition rate of first year teachers was fourteen percent, but more recently, the retention rates of new teachers are have been better. Induction to the teaching profession includes clinical settings, where prospective teachers gain more classroom experience before starting student teaching. Teacher unions, education reform groups, and federal legislature supports the process of mediated entry because it expands the teacher’s education, which leads to better retention and increased student