Unit 3
Teaching as a Profession and a Teacher’s Private Life

Overview

This unit identifies the requisite elements of a profession, and assesses whether or not teaching meets these requirements and qualifies as a profession. It introduces you to the characteristics of a profession, and the nature of professional standards and professional accountability. This unit examines teachers’ competence (including avoiding impairment of knowledge, skill, and good judgement) and analyzes the occupational role of teachers. It assesses whether or not teachers are role models and looks at what society expects of teachers in the classroom and in their private lives. It provides an analysis of how teachers are treated differently than other employees, and it shows how a teacher’s private life is not entirely private, and how a teacher’s off-school conduct can be subject to scrutiny. The courts have come to play a greater role in reshaping educational policies, a situation that was nearly unheard of before the introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. describe the characteristics of a profession.
2. describe the nature of professional standards.
3. define the term professional accountability.
4. define the four elements of competency in a profession: knowledge, skill, judgement, and diligence.
5. outline ways of enhancing teacher competence.
6. state when and how to avoid impairment of teacher competence.
7. discuss responsibilities listed under self-regulation.
8. identify the steps teachers must take to avoid actions prohibited by the teachers’ codes of conduct.
9. discuss the social concepts of teachers as mentors and role models.
10. describe the significance of the requirement that a teacher must act in a manner that maintains the honour and dignity of the profession.
11. discuss the importance of the legal and ethical dimensions of non-discrimination in education.
12. evaluate the legal position of discrimination based on, or because of, sexual orientation.
13. describe case law relating to private behaviour that would be considered unprofessional for a teacher.
14. identify the circumstances in which criminal behaviour could be a relevant factor in a teacher’s professional life.
15. describe the legal and societal boundaries between teachers and students.
16. evaluate the circumstances in which a teacher’s behaviour as a private citizen could be tantamount to professional misbehaviour.
17. examine the legal concept of hate propaganda as it relates to teachers.