Q. 1 Explain the concept of profession. Discuss teaching as profession?
Course: Professionalism in Teaching
Course Code 8612
Topics
Concept of Profession
- Discuss teaching as Profession
- Accountability,Based on specialized theoretical knowledge,Autonomy,Ethical constraints
AIOU Solved Assignment |Semester: Autumn/Spring | B.Ed/Bacherlors in Education /Masters in Education / PHD in Education | BEd / MEd / M Phil Education | ASSIGNMENT Course Code 8612| course:Professionalism in teaching
Answer:
A profession is something a little
more than a job; it is a career for someone that wants to be part of society,
who becomes competent in their chosen sector through training; maintains their
skills through continuing professional development (CPD); and commits to
behaving ethically, to protect the interests of the public.
We all rely on professionals at many
points of our lives – from dentists to teachers, from pension managers to
careers advisers, from town planners to paramedics. We rely on professionals to
be experts and to know what to do when we need them to. Back in the nineteenth
century, the professions were defined as law, religion, and medicine.
Nowadays, the number of professions
is much wider and ever-increasing, as occupations become more specialized in
nature and more ‘professionalized’ in terms of requiring certain standards of initial and ongoing
education – so that anything from
automotive technicians to web designers can be defined as professionals.
A profession is a vocation founded
upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply
disinterested objective counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite
compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain.[1] The term
is a truncation of the term "liberal profession", which is, in turn,
an Anglicization of the French term "profession liberal".
Originally borrowed by English users
in the 19th century, it has been re-borrowed by international users from the
late 20th, though the (upper-middle) class overtones of the term do not seem to
survive retranslation: "liberal professions" are, according to the
European Union's Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications (2005/36/EC)
"those practiced on the basis of relevant professional qualifications in a
personal, responsible and professionally independent capacity by those
providing intellectual and conceptual services in the interest of the client
and the public"
The professions are for you if you want...
• an occupation which will help you
to build your skills and develop your expertise in a field which interests you;
• to keep learning, be challenged and
stay up to date with the latest developments in your chosen area;
•
to solve problems, do good work, and be involved in making decisions
which help to improve people’s lives.
• to earn more money! Professionalism
pays: people with professional body membership will earn more than those
without (an average of £152,000 more in fact).
THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION:
1. Great responsibility: Professionals deal in matters of vital importance to their clients and are therefore entrusted with grave responsibilities and obligations. Given these inherent obligations, professional work typically involves circumstances where carelessness, inadequate skill, or breach of ethics would be significantly damaging to the client and/or his fortunes.
2. Accountability: Professionals hold themselves ultimately accountable for the
quality of their work with the client. The profession may or may not have
mechanisms in place to reinforce and ensure adherence to this principle among
its members. If not, the individual professionals will (e.g. guarantees and/or
contractual provisions).
3. Based on specialized, theoretical knowledge:
Professionals render specialized services based on theory, knowledge,
and skills that are most often peculiar to their profession and generally
beyond the understanding and/or capability of those outside of the profession. Sometimes,
this specialization will extend to access to the tools and technologies used in
the profession (e.g. medical equipment).
4. Institutional preparation:
Professions typically require a significant period of hands-on, practical
experience in the protected company of senior members before aspirants are recognized
as professionals. After this provisional period, ongoing education toward professional
development is compulsory. A profession may or may not require formal credentials
and/or other standards for admission.
5. Autonomy:
Professionals have control over and, correspondingly, ultimate
responsibility for their own work. Professionals tend to define the terms,
processes, and conditions of work to be performed for clients (either directly
or as preconditions for their ongoing agency employment).
6. Clients rather than customers:
Members of a profession exercise discrimination in choosing clients
rather than simply accepting any interested party as a customer (as merchants
do).
7. Direct working relationships:
Professionals habitually work directly with their clients rather than
through intermediaries or proxies.
8. Ethical constraints: Due to the other characteristics on
this list, there is a clear requirement for ethical constraints in the
professions. Professionals are bound to a code of conduct or ethics specific to
the distinct profession (and sometimes the individual). Professionals also aspire
toward a general body of core values, which are centered upon an uncompromising
and uncomplicated regard for the client's benefit and best interests.
9. Merit-based:
In a profession, members achieve employment and success based on merit and
corresponding voluntary relationships rather than on corrupted ideals such as
social principle, mandated support, or extortion (e.g. union members are not
professionals).
Therefore, a professional is one who
must attract clients and profits due to the merits of his work. In the absence
of this characteristic, issues of responsibility, accountability, and ethical
constraints become irrelevant, negating any otherwise-professional
characteristics.
10. Capitalist morality:
The responsibilities inherent to the practice of a profession are impossible
to rationally maintain without a moral foundation that flows from a recognition
of the singular right of the individual to his own life, along with all of its
inherent and potential sovereign value; a concept that only capitalism
recognizes, upholds and protects.
Teaching as a Profession
The continued professionalization of teaching is a
long-standing goal of the Alberta Teachers’ Association. The Association
continues to work to advance teaching as a profession. Professionalism is a
complex and elusive concept; it is
dynamic and fluid. Six generally accepted criteria are used to define a
profession. The teaching profession in Alberta fulfills those criteria in the
following ways:
2. It serves a great social purpose.
Teachers carry responsibilities weighted with social purpose. Through a rigid
and self-imposed adherence to the Code of Professional Conduct, which sets out
their duties and responsibilities, teachers pass on their accumulated culture
and assist each student under their care in achieving self-realization.
3. There is cooperation achieved
through a professional organization. Cooperation plays an important role in the
development of the teaching profession because it represent s a banding together
to achieve commonly desired purposes. The teaching profession has won its well
-deserved place in the social order through continuous cooperation in research,
professional preparation and strict adherence to the Code of Professional
Conduct, which obligates every teacher to treat each student within a sacred
trust. Teachers have control or influence over their own governance,
socialization into teaching and research connected with their profession.
4. There is a formal period of
preparation and a requirement for continuous growth and development. Teachers
are required to complete a defined teacher preparation program followed by a
period of induction or internship prior to being granted permanent certification.
This period includes support for the formative growth of teachers and judgments
about their competence. Teachers are devoted to continuous development of their
ability to deliver their service.
5. There is a degree of autonomy
accorded the professional. Teachers have opportunities to make decisions about
important aspects of their work. Teachers apply reasoned judgment and
professional decision making daily in diagnosing educational needs, prescribing
and implementing instructional programs, and evaluating the progress of
students. Teacher judgment unleashes learning and creates the basis for
experience.
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