Public perceptions of the teaching profession
Concerns about the recruitment and retention of teachers have prompted recent studies into the status of teaching in several different countries. This paper analyses the findings of a survey designed to investigate public perceptions of the teaching profession in the UK. It was undertaken as part of a broader DfES‐funded longitudinal project that has been using a mixed methodology to explore individual teachers’ perceptions of their status, and the status of teaching as viewed by education stakeholders and the general public. Whilst the survey confirmed many previous findings about the way in which teaching is viewed, it also produced some surprises. First, 50% of respondents deemed teaching to be an attractive career, a higher percentage than expected. Second, men, especially older men, were more likely than women to see teaching as an attractive career. Third, the survey found no obvious differences in the comparative status accorded to primary and secondary teachers. This is in sharp contrast to the views of many writers in this field who have argued that traditionally the younger the children taught, the lower the occupational status of their teachers. Overall, the findings suggest a positive change in the public perceptions of teaching particularly amongst the younger age‐range.
Developing an Attitude Scale for the Profession of Physical Education Teaching (ASPPET)
Abstract In this study, the development of a Likert-type attitude scale for the profession of physical education teaching (ASPPET) was aimed. The group of the study was consisted of totally 556 pre-service physical education teachers. In order to determine the structural validity of ASPPET, an exploratory and confirmative factor analyses were performed. A two-factor structure was determined as a result of the factor analysis. It was seen that while the first factor of the scale was consisted of positive and 13 items, the second factor was consisted of negative and 10 items. While the first factor explained 30,77% of the total variance and the second factor explained 23,30% of the total variance; it was seen that two lower factors explained 54,08% of the total variance together. The high adaptive values obtained as a result of the confirmative factor analysis showed that the two-factor structure of the scale was confirmed. Internal consistency coefficients of Cronbach alpha were calculated; it was determined as 90 for the first lower factor; 86 for the second lower factor and 88 for the whole scale. It was concluded that the scale, which was obtained from these findings, was a valid and reliable scale in measuring the attitude directed at the profession of physical education teaching. Key Words Attitude, Profession of Physical Education Teaching, Scale, Validity and Reliability. Teachers are important components of educational system (Kavcar, 2005). While Kucukahmet (2001, p.1) designates that "the magic wand in teaching is teacher's himself"; Yilmaz, Koseoglu, Gercek and Soran (2004) emphasize that teachers are indispensable elements of educational system as the ones who change and improve behaviors of students. Furthermore, they indicate that the success of an educational system cannot be considered separately from the teacher who realizes and carries out the system. The personal characteristics of a teacher, their skills in monitoring the teaching and learning processes, relations with students and environment are all factors which affect the studies and achievements of candidate teachers (Aydin, 1993). Teaching is a profession requiring awareness of new developments, ongoing professional training, patience, and dedicated studying. Being successful as a teacher is possible only through loving it (Cicek-Saglam, 2008). Another factor affecting the success of teachers is their attitude towards the profession (Guneyli & Aslan, 2009). Attitudes are "one of the personality characteristic of teachers affecting their students; in particular, attitudes towards the profession, student and school studies dramatically affect the learning process and personal character of the student" (Kucukahmet, 2003, p. 68). Attitudes are an important concept affecting human behaviors. Different definitions of attitude are present in the literature. According to Tavþancýl (2002), attitude is an emotional and intellectual state of readiness having directive and influential power on humans' behaviors towards all relevant states and objects occurring as a result of life and experiences. According to Demirel (2003, p. 93), it is "a learned inclination prompting an individual to certain behaviors towards certain persons, objects and states." In another definition, attitude is defined as "an inclination of negative or positive learned reaction towards certain objects, states, institutions, concepts and persons" (Tezbaþaran, 1997, p. 1). In general, attitudes affect the senses, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals. According to this, irrespective of their teaching specialism, the attitudes of teachers towards their profession are of great importance in their affection for the profession of teaching, their success in the profession and in fulfilling the requirements of the profession (Durmuþoðlu, Yanýk, & Akkoyunlu, 2009). The attitudes and perceptions of a profession affect the perception of professional competence and the achievements in that profession (Terzi & Tezci, 2007). …
Ed School: A Brief for Professional Education
Although schools of law, medicine, and business are now highly respected, schools of education and the professionals they produce continue to be held in low regard. In "Ed School," Geraldine Joncich Clifford and James W. Guthrie attribute this phenomenon to issues of academic politics and gender bias as they trace the origins and development of the school of education in the United States. Drawing on case studies of leading schools of education, the authors offer a bold, controversial agenda for reform: ed schools must reorient themselves toward teachers and away from the quest for prestige in academe; they must also adhere to national professional standards, abandon the undergraduate education major, and reject the Ph.D. in education in favor of the Ed.D."