- For university teachers, see professor.
In education, teachers are those who teach students or pupils, often a course of study , lesson plan, or a practical skill, including learning and thinking skills. There are many different ways to teach and help students learn. This is often referred to as the teacher's pedagogy. When deciding what teaching method to use, a teacher will need to consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals. See education for more.
Related positions
A teacher who registers a student, or who is positioned to help the student in a particular subject, is called a "tutor". A teacher or trainer from whom a student learns a great deal may be called a "mentor". (However this term is not used, in this context, in the UK.)
An "educationalist" is an educational theorist, writer or researcher.
In traditional China, the model teacher, Confucius, is greatly revered. A Chinese term for teacher is shifu or laoshi.
University teachers
Teachers in college are called instructors or lecturers. In the United States, the term "professor" is usually applied to college or University teachers that have received tenure; although, there are rankings from Assistant Professor through Full Professor that may be defined differently at various institutions.
Senior teachers
Teachers who look after the whole school are called head teachers, school principals or headmasters. The equivalent in colleges and universities is called the dean. Teachers of this status rarely teach students. A teacher in a grammar or public school in Britain may also be a Head of House. Houses were also used in secondary and comprehensive schools.
As with most large organisations a school needs a hierarchical structure of command, allowing matters to be delegated to a specific department or section of the school. In many cases there are deputy headteachers, heads of department (or subject, such as science or history) and heads of year. A head of year is in charge of the pastoral care of one year group.
Every school has a disciplinary procedure which dictates how punishments should be given to misbehaving students. One common method of coping with problems is the idea of escalation whereby the classroom teacher attempts to deal with the student(s) themselves before passing it on to a more senior teacher. Eventually, should the situation not be resolved, the headmaster becomes involved.
Emergency teachers
A teacher may be replaced by another teacher if they are absent due to an illness, death, or planned absence. In the United States, replacement teachers are known as substitute teachers (or more informally as "subs"); in Australia and New Zealand, they are known as emergency or relieving teachers; in the UK and in Canada they are generally known as supply teachers. In Western Canada, they are called TOCs (teachers-on-call). Temporary, substitute teachers in universities are usually in forms of multiple guest lecturers.
These teachers often find it difficult to acclimatise to the new environment, often moving from one school to another week after week. They are often viewed badly by the students they are looking after with a "you're not my real teacher" attitude making behaviour management very difficult. Meanwhile, especially in subjects like second languages, they may actually know less than their students. In long term replacements, however, this quickly subsides.
Teacher trade union groups have expressed resentment towards the continuous use of supply teachers (who may be paid a lower amount) to satisfy long-term shortages when school administrations have resisted creating a permanent teaching position.
Qualification and registration
Teachers are usually educated in a university or college. Often they must be certified by a government body before they can teach in a school.
Australia
Certification in Australia differs from state to state; however as a general rule all teachers must possess a tertiary certification - either a Bachelor of Education, BA (Education), Bachelor of Teaching or Graduate Diploma of Education (DipEd) - awarded by a Australian certified University or an equivilant award from overseas plus experience in the classsroom. Many states now have Teacher Registration Boards or are soon to institute them. These organisations are charged with certifying potential teacher's qualification and ensure constant Professional Development.
Canada
Canadian teachers must receive certification from a provincial College of Teachers in order to be able to teach elementary and secondary school. The process for certification is somewhat different in Quebec relative to English Canada.
England and Wales
- Main article: Qualified Teacher Status
In England and Wales teachers must have gained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). There are many paths in which a person can work towards gaining their QTS, the most popular of which is to have completed a first degree program (such as a BA or BSc) and then a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). Other methods include a specific teaching degree (BEd) or on-the-job training at a school. All qualified teachers in England must serve, after training, a statutory one year induction period that must be passed in order to remain a registered teacher. In Wales this period lasts for two years. During this period a teacher is known as an NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher). Schools are obliged to provide guidance, support and training to facilitate the NQT's success during this year. Local education authorities are also obliged to provide professional development opportunities.
Scotland
In Scotland teachers must hold a valid teaching qualification (TQ) and be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. Following initial teacher education and gaining a teaching qualification a Scottish teacher is deemed to be provisionaly registered with the GTCS and must undergo a year of probation supported through the Scottish Executive's induction programme.
There are several possible to routes to a TQ, including a Bachelor of Education in Music, Physical Education or Technological Education for secondary school or a general BEd for primary school, a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) or a concurrent undergraduate degree combining a Bachelor of Science or Scottish MA with the initial teacher education elements of a PGDE. Concurrent degrees are only avaible from the University of Stirling.
A Scottish teacher may only qualify in a subject directly related to their undergraduate or graduate studies.
For teachers qualified outside of Scotland an application must be made to the GTCS for exceptional registration.
United States
In the United States, each state determines the requirements for getting a license to teach. Typical requirements include a bachelor's degree, education coursework, licensing exams, a criminal background check, and payment of a fee.
Until recently, a person could not teach unless he or she had completed a year or more of specific teaching training at a normal school. In the past two decades, normal school courses have been made optional through the promotion of Alternate Route teacher certification. New Jersey was the first state to establish an Alternate Route program, doing so in 1984. Since then, most states have established their own programs.
Teachers in New York State must have a Bachelor's degree and complete a Master's degree within five years. Additionally, to be permanently certified, teachers must pass three state exams on pedagogy, general knowledge and knowledge of a content area. In order to work in a public school a candidate must be fingerprinted.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 1.4 million elementary school teachers, 600,000 middle school teachers, and 1 million secondary school teachers employed in the U.S.
World Teacher's Day
UNESCO inaugurated World Teachers’ Day on 5 October 1994 to celebrate and commemorate the signing of the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers on 5 October 1966. World Teachers’ Day also highlighted the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel adopted in 1997. Some countries such as Taiwan also celebrate Teacher's Day as a national holiday. In Brazil, it is celebrated on October 15.
Readings
- Ms. Moffett's First Year: Becoming a Teacher in America by Abby Goodnough (PublicAffairs, 1586482599, 2004).
- Burks, M.P., Requirements for Certification, Fifty-first Edition, 1986-87. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1986.
- Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy, Task Force on Teaching as a Profession. A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century. 1986. ED 268 120.
- Feistritzer, C.E. The Condition of Teaching, A State by State Analysis. Laurenceville, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985.
- Holmes Group. Tomorrow's Teachers: A Report of the Holmes Group. 1986. ED 270 454.
- Roth, R.R. and R. Mastain (Eds.). Manual on Certification and Preparation of Educational Personnel in the United States. Sacramento: National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 1984.
See also
External links
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