Professional Teaching Practices in Developed Nations PDF

**0101=1** **1.0 Introduction\ **Teaching is said to be the mother of all professions. This is true because there is an element of teaching in every profession. Nobody can be a professional in whatever field without being taught by a teacher of that field in the first place. In spite of this fact,...

**0101=1** **1.0 Introduction\ **Teaching is said to be the mother of all professions. This is true because there is an element of teaching in every profession. Nobody can be a professional in whatever field without being taught by a teacher of that field in the first place. In spite of this fact, teaching has never been regarded or recognized as a **[noble]** profession all over the world. Right from the ancient times and probably up till today, only three professions are regarded and widely recognized as noble. These are the Legal, the Medical and the Divinity (i,e. Priesthood) Professions. In view of the above fact, there is the need to discuss professionalism in general and the teaching profession in particular. **3.1 Definition and characteristics of a Profession** A profession can generally be defined as any [field of work] that has been successfully professionalized. Professionalizing a field of work can be explained to mean that From the above definition, the following can be considered as the characteristics of a profession:- a. It is a field of work with members. b. The members are a disciplined group of individuals who hold themselves out and are accepted by the public as possessing special high level knowledge and skill derived from Research, Education and Training. c. The members are ready to adhere to a specified ethical standards. d. The members are prepared to apply such knowledge and exercise such skills for the interest and benefit of others e. The field has a regulatory body to assess, license and enforce discipline on members. Although there are many fields of work that are considered by the public as professions, it should be said that not all of them meet the criteria of a noble profession. **3.2 Definition of teaching and types of teachers.** Teaching can be defined as the act of imparting some knowledge and/or skills to other person(s).\ \ An [ordinary teacher] is defined as anybody that has acquired some knowledge and/or skills who has put himself out and is ready to impart such knowledge or skill to another person(s). A [qualified teacher] is any ordinary teacher who has, in addition, also acquired the separate knowledge and techniques of teaching (i.e. Pedagogy). A [professional teacher] is any qualified and professionally licensed teacher who is ready to discipline him/herself and is also ready to adhere to the ethical standards of the teaching profession; and is also ready to subject him/herself to the mandatory CPD (i.e. Continuous Professional Development). 3. **The practice of professional teaching.** **3.3.1 [The practice in the developed nations -- USA and UK examples]** Professionalism has firmly taken its roots overseas and this is clearly reflected in the very rigorous requirements for professional recognition and registration abroad. Whether it is teaching, medical, legal, engineering, pharmacy, nursing and other professions, an individual is mandatorily required not only to undertake years of approved training but also must pass through supervised practical exposure before licensure. Even after the registration of a professional, he is expected to continuously improve his knowledge and skills through on-going professional development. In most professions, only practitioners that earn the minimum credits specified for on-going professional development can have their licenses renewed and have their names retained on the register of those professionals. Teaching abroad is such a very serious profession that it is absolutely criminal for an individual to be found teaching in the classroom without a teaching license. Where such happens, the entire society will be agitated and panic-stricken. This is so because parents want to be absolutely sure that their children and wards are safe at school learning only legitimate and approved curriculum under the most competent teachers. They fear leaving their children and wards in the hands of persons who would abuse and molest them physically, emotionally and sexually; they fear leaving them in the hands of those who would fail to implement the curriculum but rather help to nurture and sustain the culture of examination malpractice; they fear leaving them in the hands of incompetent persons who could kill the talents in their children and wards through wrong teaching methods and poor evaluation; etc. For all these and more reasons, the entry of quacks into their classrooms is banned and the teaching councils are given statutory powers to hold the children in trust for the parents and to ensure that no harm befalls them. The Teaching Regulatory Councils are therefore the custodian of teaching morality and standards and are held accountable by the public for breaches bothering on incompetence, negligence and misconduct of teachers. In the United States of America, each of the 50 States of the USA has its teaching regulatory authority that ensures that no one enters the profession without complying with very strict professional standards. Part of these standards is a professional qualifying examination (PQE) called PRAXIS TEST. To practice in any state in USA, an individual must sit and pass the PRAXIS and other related tests in addition to other requirements such as criminal background checks, etc. But again, passing the professional qualifying examination in one state of the USA does not entitle one to practice teaching in another State of the USA. Therefore, if an individual moves from state to state in the USA, each state has the duty to test the person again to be sure of his or her competency before issuing him or her a license to teach in the new State. A person is exempted from writing the test only if his or her previous and new states have a bilateral agreement or understanding to recognize the licensure of each other. However, to teach in all states across the USA, an individual is required to pass a national qualifying PRAXIS examination or examination conducted by the National Board for Professional Standards or other acceptable national qualifications. This goes a long way to show how, not only the parents, but also the states and nation of the USA jealously guard the sanctity of their educational system particularly the teaching service. The story is not different in the United Kingdom where each province has a General Teaching Council -- The General Teaching Council for Wales and the General Teaching Council for Scotland. In these provinces, no individual can be found in the classroom without teaching licensure of the respective General Teaching Councils. The General Teaching Councils prescribe minimum teaching requirements which include what constitutes a "Qualified Teaching Status" part of which is theoretical and practical examination of persons aspiring to teach as well as background checks to ensure that the person is free from criminal traits.