Faculty of Education and Distance Learning

Department of Education

Module Name: Professional Academic Practice in Action 1

Module Code: D8-PPA-15

Student ID: 1716447

Email:tsholofelo.zigwa@botho.ac.bw

Lecturer: Dr Mark Lejk

TITLE
ANALYSIS OF TEACHING AS A PROFESSION IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGHER EDUCATION; and a
review of challenges that teachers in the 21st century need to address, due to diverse
societal and technological advancement.

KEYWORDS: Higher Education, Challenges, Diversity, Technology, Profession,

Characteristics, Ethics and Codes, Society
INTRODUCTION

Due to technological advancements, the world shrunk into a global village leaving education
with no choice but to shift and create continual bridges between diverse populace. This shift
brought so many changes into the educational system. For example, in Botswana, a need for
almost all subjects to be taught in English was introduced as a way of accommodating the
changes brought in by societal diversification. Carr, D (2000) states that despite the health
care profession, other occupation have started to scrutinize their work environment in
terms of service deliver and relationship they built with their clientele. Over the last decade,
medicine, law, and engineering have been the only or few professions known and
recognized but with the massive increase of diversity and technology advancement other
occupations such as psychology, nursing, teaching, social work and pharmacy began to
allege professional status. However, in the 21st century, education has changed
tremendously due to many circumstances that are brought in by diversity and to its
advantage teaching emerged in the streams of highly valued professions. The results of
technology and societal diversity has nevertheless bestowed teaching with a recognition
status and on the other hand brought challenges in the profession. However, this paper
provides comprehensive blue print analyses of teaching as a profession in the context of
higher learning and outlines the challenges that are faced by teachers in higher education
where teaching has changed to keep pace with the societal and the technological changes in
the world we live in today.

Furthermore, we understand before the 21st century the category of people, who made up
the profession, were often tagged along occupations of legal/law, medical, the engineering
professions and teaching was never among the list. Considering the great need for quality,
innovative and fast movement of information into today`s world had since positioned
teaching into the map of professionalism. Therefore, teaching profession requires
competency in a particular area and the competency is obtained through acquiring certain
minimum qualifications and undergoing training for a specified period of time. Like any
other professions, teachers need to regularly update their skills through continuous
professional development. In addition, a professional is expected to exhibit certain kind of
ethical behaviour which is the same case with teaching. Therefore, the bickering among
many scholars and tutors on whether teaching is a profession or not is something of the
past. The emerging of teaching as a profession was a result of a need to produce quality
education that will keep pace with the changes that has been brought by technological
advancement and societal diversity. Professional Standards Council (n.d) defines profession
by concepts of employment which means the teaching is obliged to pursue certain codes of
conducts as a point of reference towards the wellbeing of the learners. Hence said a teacher
in high institutions are mandated and expected to display certain kind of ethical behaviour
which the society approve to be morally right and acceptable.

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In the past, higher education around the world has faced a number of potential threats to
effective learning and teaching support. In recent years considerable interest has focused on
identifying those challenges, and finding ways to address them. Spearman(2015) concur
that technological forces has a great negative impact on the milestone of social changes
and at the same time the two factors has brought breakthroughs within the fields of higher
learning. Cultural background, beliefs, norms, religion, ethnic groups, language and other
societal factors have brought so many changes in the educational system. In the past
students especially in Africa where limited in terms of how far they can go with education,
they were taught subjects in their local language and mostly indigenous and religion.
Societal diversity and the emergent of the internet shifted the demand of cost in high
education and broaden the number of high institutions. As a result low income families
experienced difficulties in sending their children to high schools and most of them ended at
lower levels and junior schools. Higher education is multifaceted and learning in high
schools requires quality to be emphasised so that higher institutions produce skilful
graduates who are able to penetrate the global educational system. Teaching is a profession
that puts the interest of the society at the forefront and teachers are required to portray
ethical behaviour to protect the interest of the public. The teaching profession comprises of
codes of behaviour that augment the degree of societal value and the significant role
teachers should play for the interest of the public. For example a teacher should create a
conducive environment for learners, build a positive relationship of culture and innovative
environment that promote equality. This is very vital in our education today, since we have
people from diverse backgrounds, with different norms, believes and ways of doing things
therefore a teacher has a responsibility to make all students comfortable in a learning
environment. A teacher should have a intellect of history and be able to connect the lessons
and values of history to what should be needed in the present.

Moreover, Spearman (2015) highlights that a classroom is a social structure that requires a
teacher to combine knowledge of the students into a sociological milieu relevant to what is
being learned. Today, higher education is experiencing challenges of multiculturalism and
therefore what does this mean to the education system? It means educational programs
should recognize the cultural diversity by practicing equality of all cultures. Higher learning
has become a global classroom with a solo worldwide connections where students from
diverse cultures, countries and regions study together in the same lecture, for example
online studies, it brings together learners from diverse cultural backgrounds in a classroom
where they don’t physically come into contact with each other or the lecturer. Online
studies has proved to be a powerful learning tool particularly with sky-scraping challenges of
financial constraints, shortage of courses in the local region and the need for people to
balance between work and advancing their studies. In short, it saves time and help increase
productivity since the job does not remain vacant. Spearman (2015) highlights that new
advancement in technology is a never ceasing change but a continuous growth which will
keep changing year by year and incur dominance and demand at higher rate.

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Furthermore, computers are highly valued and needed in higher education setup where the
pace of education and quality is a necessity to produce skilful graduates that are competent
globally. Technology is a very significant skill essential to find employment in today`s era, for
example literacy on computers skills is a highly recommended requirement for most jobs.
Harvey, Green, and Burrows, (1993) agrees that quality teaching in higher education matters
for students at this level of education. But fostering quality teaching brought higher
education institutions with a range of challenges at a time when the higher education sector
is coming under pressure from many different directions. Institutions need to ensure that
the education they offer meets the expectations of students and the requirements of
employers, both today and for the future. Nonetheless, higher education institutions are
multifaceted organizations where the vision of the school as an organization and needs of
learners should be relevant and overlap each other in practices and modernization for the
mutual goal of teaching and learning in today`s era. Fry, Ketteridge, Marshall (2009) found
that the learning styles applied by teachers in today’s education should be in line with the
changing patterns of behaviour and views of the world today.

Henceforth, the teaching profession in higher institutions, however, is continually changing

as student demographics, social learning, and education technology continues to change the
learning environment. To its advantage the power of educational technology and the
resources available give learning in higher education the ability to be tackling the challenges
with less effort. However, rules, regulations, policies and codes are very helpful in tackling
some of the challenges within the teaching profession today. Australia (2016) agrees that
teachers are now governed by codes of ethics, therefore, means teaching professionals
should profess the commitment to competence, integrity and morality, self-sacrifice, and
the promotion of the public good within their expert field which gives more transparency
that teacher that holds accountability to the learners and to society they live in. These codes
of conducts guide the behaviour and expectations of a teacher within a world that has been
engulfed with so many changes brought in by globalization. Such codes require behaviour
and practice beyond the personal moral obligations of an individual. They define and
demand high standards of behaviour in respect to the services provided to the public and in
dealing with professional colleagues. For example, in Botswana, a teacher is regarded as a
role model, a parent and a guardian of a student and should portray values of respect, care,
integrity and trust that reflect through the code. This is where values and culture meet.

Also, the collision of transmission of knowledge has been found to have a great blow on the
increase demand of quality education in high institutions such as the University. As a result,
the force that has been brought in by societal diversity and technology has put pressure on
the whole system of higher education to promote quality in learning. Today, teachers need
continuous professional development. All around the world, higher education whilst highly
valued and applauded by all, faces great challenges in today`s world. Societal diversity and
advancement in technology has not only brought the goodies but also the damages to the

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end users especially learners in high education. Students today use the internet more that
before; they use the internet, whatsApp, facebook, youtube, mostly outside the classroom
and for things irrelevant from education. Eduviews (2008) state learners today are digitally
trapped but with strategic use of the 21st century learning tools, educational institutions can
provide the supportive productive environment educators need to reach, teach, and
support each student’s learning needs and potential. Students across the achievement and
socioeconomic range need a lot of motivation. Student needs instructional learning
environment that will engage them with the content and give them opportunity to learn in
the environment that chains alliance with peers, teachers, and the society at large. Students
today live digitally every day. In short student in digital times use technology wrongly and it
suffers more the learning and in trying to bridge this gap it remains a continuing challenge
to teachers and the support system in higher education.

Administrative and support staff are intermediaries in higher education, as a result there is
the growth of information technology; changes in the delivery of higher education; and the
development of “I want to make profit - culture” within higher learning structure
particularly with private institutions. The growing usage of information technology amplified
roles and responsibilities for administrative and support staff than before. Changes in
delivery had impacted on staff in a number of ways: introduction of semesters, modules,
service learning and internships had meant that teachers have to be involved in the planning
and management of courses; management had begun to delegate more administrative tasks
to academic staff. Hence, teachers in higher education face the challenge of workload of
which most of it is of administrative work and coupling it with room management it double
head ache. Also, students in higher education should be fully accountable to their learning
and should be a in a position to engage in research and further learning to increase learning
and understanding. It is important that learners structure information and are able to use it
at their own time. Biggs (1999) cited in Fry, Ketteridge, Marshall (2009) states that the
teacher must guarantee that course plan, the teaching style and learning opportunities and
assessment help the learner to learn.

In addition, technology gives teachers ability to keep in touch with all support structures
within the educational system and also, they are able to issue learners with productive
feedback on their assessments. Carroll (2007) cited in Eduviews (2008), highlights that
technology-based alliance and mutual tools give hope to the future of high education
learning. The teachers also are advantaged as they learn from one another, share ideas from
other peer groups within same fields, and build instructional strategies together which at
the end of the day improve teaching quality and student learning. Teachers need curriculum
defined as the key fundamental learning that students are aware of and tie back to
standards, benchmarks, and expectations. Teaching is a profession that need 21st learners,
teachers and the society to optimize learning so that the education can flow and diversify in
such a way those learners would be capable of dealing with challenges that will come on the

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latter. For example teachers find themselves along with students from a very varied
background knowledge base. Hodgson (1984) cited in Fry, Ketteridge, Marshall (2009)
emphasises that despite these diverse distinctions , the learning outcomes for the module
should be relevant to the changes and teachers need skills to know how to deal with
learners from diverse environment.

In a nutshell, the bomb of technological advancement and societal diversity has been felt
within the entire teaching profession across all corners of the world. Resistance to change
within the profession of teaching in high learning has been confronted with diverse
measures but with a common goal of making all stakeholders in the system as comfortable
as possible within the changing environment. In all the levels of education, higher education
felt the most punch since high institutions are large and complex in comparison to other
institutions. Universities and colleges presently still endure massive pressure on improving
the quality of learning in a world engulfed with digital exploitation and societal diversity.
New technology will always advance to the latter and the education system should always
keep guide on the changes that may occur. However, strategically if higher institutions can
take advantage of the 21st century learning materials, this can help develop the education
system and the tools can help build an innovative environment that support student’s
learning and possible requirements in today`s world. Nonetheless teaching profession is the
most valued and most respected professions in today`s world and to its advantage has
found opportunity in education without borders, where all people can engage anytime,
anywhere and at their own pace.

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REFERENCE LIST

1. Eduviews(2008) Teaching in the 21st Century; a review of the issues and changing
models in the teaching profession Available Online at:
https://www.blackboard.com/resources/k12/k12_teaching21st_final.pdf [Accessed 20
September 2017]
2. Fry, Marshall and Ketteridge, S (2003) ‘Teaching portfolios’ (pp. 242–52), in H Fry et al.
(2nd edn), A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education London:
Kogan,Page 19.
3. Fry, Ketteridge and Marshall (2009) Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 3rd
Edition Available Online at:
<http://biblioteca.ucv.cl/site/colecciones/manuales_u/A%20Handbook%20for%20Teach
ing%20and%20Learning%20in%20Higher%20Education%20Enhancing%20academic%20
and%20Practice.pdf [Accessed 19 September 2017]
4. Harvey, L., Green, H. and Burrows, A (1993) “Assessing Quality in Higher Education: a
transbinary research project”, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 18:2.
5. Profession Australia (2007) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers , Available
Online at: <http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/teacher-
accreditation/how-accreditation-works/guide-to-accreditation/professional-standards
[Accessed 16 September 2017]
6. Professional Standard council PSC (n.d) What is a professions: Available Online at:<
https://www.psc.gov.au/what-is-a-profession> [Accessed 12 August 2017]
7. Spearman, C (2015) HowWillSocietalandTechChangesAffectTeachingofMusic-by-
Carlesta-Elliott-Spearman.pdf Available Online at: < https://nafme.org/wp-
content/files/2015/12/14-HowWillSocietalandTechChangesAffectTeachingofMusic-by-
Carlesta-Elliott-Spearman.pdf> [Accessed 14 September 2017]
8. The Teaching Council (2012) Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers 2 nd Edition
[Available Online] http://www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Publications/Fitness-to-
Teach/Code-of-Professional-Conduct-for-Teachers.pdf [Accessed 23 September 2017]