Professional Issues
DIK7230 Assignment Two – A. Shuttleworth
Professional Issues Assignment.
Introduction
In this assignment, I will review the debate on professionalism. Looking at the teacher as a professional and discussing their professionalism. I will highlight the differences and the similarities between professionalism in education and several other professional vocations. I will discuss the shifting views of professional status of both mainstream teachers and FE teachers, and developments and where I see the FE sector heading.
I will go on to review conceptions of reflective practice in the context of professionalism, focussing on several models of reflection.
I will review my own values and continuing development needs in both the curriculum and professionalism, explaining what is important to me in my work and how I see myself developing within the profession.
The debate on Professionalism
The debate on professionalism is, as I found in my reading and discussion in the classroom, a complex one. There are many of the differing ideas about what professionalism is and who the professionals are. During a class discussion, we were asked to discuss who in society professionals were. Doctors, social workers, the clergy and lawyers seemed to be obvious, because they need to have a higher level of education and qualifications, dictated by their individual governing bodies, in order to fulfil their obligations. Professionals also work to ethical codes and a personal will to do their best for their clients, weather they be patients, someone in need of legal representation or a school pupil, a sense of altruism. At the core of their ethics and altruism is the need for professionals to reflect and to act on those reflections, I will discuss reflection in detail later in this assignment. As stated by Humphreys and Hyland:
‘Standard analyses of the notion of professionalism in public service occupations such as teaching, nursing and social work all stressed
Professional Issues Assignment.
Introduction
In this assignment, I will review the debate on professionalism. Looking at the teacher as a professional and discussing their professionalism. I will highlight the differences and the similarities between professionalism in education and several other professional vocations. I will discuss the shifting views of professional status of both mainstream teachers and FE teachers, and developments and where I see the FE sector heading.
I will go on to review conceptions of reflective practice in the context of professionalism, focussing on several models of reflection.
I will review my own values and continuing development needs in both the curriculum and professionalism, explaining what is important to me in my work and how I see myself developing within the profession.
The debate on Professionalism
The debate on professionalism is, as I found in my reading and discussion in the classroom, a complex one. There are many of the differing ideas about what professionalism is and who the professionals are. During a class discussion, we were asked to discuss who in society professionals were. Doctors, social workers, the clergy and lawyers seemed to be obvious, because they need to have a higher level of education and qualifications, dictated by their individual governing bodies, in order to fulfil their obligations. Professionals also work to ethical codes and a personal will to do their best for their clients, weather they be patients, someone in need of legal representation or a school pupil, a sense of altruism. At the core of their ethics and altruism is the need for professionals to reflect and to act on those reflections, I will discuss reflection in detail later in this assignment. As stated by Humphreys and Hyland:
‘Standard analyses of the notion of professionalism in public service occupations such as teaching, nursing and social work all stressed
References: Humphreys and Hyland. (2002) ‘Theory, Practice and Performance in Teaching: Professionalism, intuition and jazz’, Educational Studies, vol. 6, No.1, pp 5-15 Association of Teachers and Lecturers (2005) ‘Position Statement, New Professionalism’ [online] Lydia Spenceley (2006) ‘Smoke and mirrors’: an examination of the concept of professionalism within the FE sector’ Research in Post-Compulsory Education, vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 289-302 Avis, J. et al, eds. (2010) ‘Teaching in Lifelong Learning’ Open University Press Marland, M. (2002) ‘The Craft of the Classroom, A Survival Guide’ 3rd ed. Oxford: Hienemann Educational Publishers