Professionalization is sometimes viewed as either the service of teaching or a ruse to win teachers over into striving for and achieving state purposes. Professional teachers have academic qualifications and also act on ethical moments based on explicit or implicit code of conduct. The practice of teachers is based on a special knowledge aspect rooted in the idea that successful professional practice rests upon special professional knowledge much of it experimentally gained and often held tacitly. It becomes then the task of professional education somehow to unpack this knowledge or find ways of passing it on from experienced professionals to those entering the profession. It is the task of professional educators to clarify the substance and structure of this knowledge base and to transmit it to newcomers in the field.
Given the conflict between professional autonomy and state demands on one hand and the intricacies of professional knowledge on the other hand, teacher educators are confronted with a dilemma. Should they base their own academic notions on the belief that the profession rests on a solid base of special knowledge, or should they become more assertive in the political dialogues concerning teacher’s preparation and development , questioning the existing order and keeping alive ideas of equity and social justice? How can teacher education prepare teachers for the inherent clash between professional autonomy and centralized curricular serving in a global economy?
There is no defensible professional teacher education that is not based on a valid body of knowledge. In addition to subject matter , knowledge and understanding of the broader social ramifications, It is important to include the following: teacher understanding and commitment to professional behavior, interpersonal and communication skills, Among all the diverse demands placed on teacher education programs, promoting the ability to teach for understanding is particularly important.
Teachers are to help students delve more deeply into the underlying meanings of mathematics, engage their discussion on problems and ideas, reasoning and understanding, rather than merely emphasizing performance. This kind of teaching creates challenges by opening up the classroom discussion as well as the ways in which knowledge is treated and demanding a finer and more ongoing discernment of student’s knowledge.
Teaching for understanding depends on the acknowledgement of several aspects of uncertainty in teaching-the inherently incomplete nature of the knowledge with which teachers work, teacher’s commitment to be responsive to diverse students and students unpredictable responses, and possible conflicts between commitment to teach for understanding and the other educational commitments teachers have. When teachers attempt to teach for understanding the other educational evidence of learning may be elusive and may not provide teachers with what is generally considered sound and valid knowledge about their students. Teachers plans predict and prescribe teaching in a certain sense but students unpredictable responses create an ever-changing content for teaching that is not completely predictable. Teaching is always contingent on a sound array of intervening variables that mediate between a teachers action and a students response. The more demanding teaching becomes- and teaching for understanding is a highly complex and demanding endeavor – the more one senses the accompanying uncertainties.
Teaching is facing and dealing with competing commitments- teaching for understanding, providing sound subject matter knowledge , and honoring students ideas. Education is expected to promote democratic equality- preparing competent citizens, social efficiency , preparing productive worker, social mobility, preparing individuals who can compete successfully for social goods. Yet the kind of teaching and learning that will be effective varies radically depending on whether the primary aim is to prepare citizens or workers as social climbers.
By: Jenna Rose R. Ventura
