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Dinesh Kumar, Lovely Professional University Unit 32: Teaching as a Profession, Professional Development of Teachers

Unit 32: Teaching as a Profession, Professional Notes

Development of Teachers

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
32.1 Teaching as a Profession
32.2 Need and Importance of Professional Development
32.3 Professional Commitment
32.4 Professional Norms
32.5 Professional Ethics of Teachers
32.6 Summary
32.7 Keywords
32.8 Review Questions
32.9 Further Readings

Objectives

After reading this unit, students will be able to:
• to discuss about the teaching as a profession.
• to explain about the need and importance of professional development.
• to describe the professional commitment.
• to explain about professional norms.
• to discuss about the ethics of teachers.

Introduction

Now a day 'teacher's professional development is an important issue in the area of teacher-
education. It is stated in several ways. There should be professionalization of teaching at every
level i.e. from primary stage to the higher education. Teachers should develop his professional
excellence. There are some fundamental questions related to profession development such as
what is teaching profession? How is it different from other professions? Upto what extent teaching
can be accepted as a profession? What are the ways and means for professional development?
How can professional development be measured? These questions have answered in this unit for
the awareness of this issue.

32.1 Teaching as a Profession

In general profession refers to family profession. If most of the family members are in teaching,
and a young member of the family joins the teaching but he has not teaching aptitude and
interest he may do better in some other job. It is said that he joins teaching as a profession. Some
time parents ask him to do so as his family profession. It was tradition in our country but now
the concept has changed.
Teaching as a profession implies that a candidate who have joined teaching, he should take it as
vocation that he has the aptitude of teaching. Teaching skills can be developed with the help of
feedback devices. It involves more than job skills and aptitude of teaching. There are some
ethical considerations and social accountability and responsibility. He should look like a teacher

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