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A profession is something a little more than a job, it is a career for someone that wants
to be part of society, who becomes competent in their chosen sector through training;
maintains their skills through continuing professional development (CPD); and
commits to behaving ethically, to protect the interests of the ...

a profession is your job while a professional is a person who practices that job along
with its skills and knowledge.
.
A paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.

Teaching as a Profession. ... Profession is derived from the word “profiteor” meaning
to profess. The connotation here is that a professional is a person who possesses
knowledge of something and has a commitment to a particular set of values both of
which are generally well accepted characteristics ofprofessions.

The fundamental characteristics of a profession:

 Great responsibility. ...
 Accountability. ...
 Based on specialized, theoretical knowledge. ...
 Institutional preparation. ...
 Autonomy. ...
 Clients rather than customers. ...
 Direct working relationships. ...
 Ethical constraints.

THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A

PROFESSION:
1. Great responsibility
Professionals deal in matters of vital importance to their clients and are therefore
entrusted with grave responsibilities and obligations. Given these inherent
obligations, professional work typically involves circumstances where
carelessness, inadequate skill, or breach of ethics would be significantly
damaging to the client and/or his fortunes.
2. Accountability
Professionals hold themselves ultimately accountable for the quality of their
work with the client. The profession may or may not have mechanisms in place
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to reinforce and ensure adherence to this principle among its members. If not, the
individual professional will (e.g. guarantees and/or contractual provisions).
3. Based on specialized, theoretical knowledge
Professionals render specialized services based on theory, knowledge, and skills
that are most often peculiar to their profession and generally beyond the
understanding and/or capability of those outside of the profession. Sometimes,
this specialization will extend to access to the tools and technologies used in the
profession (e.g. medical equipment).
4. Institutional preparation
Professions typically require a significant period of hands-on, practical
experience in the protected company of senior members before aspirants are
recognized as professionals. After this provisional period, ongoing education
toward professional development is compulsory. A profession may or may not
require formal credentials and/or other standards for admission.
5. Autonomy
Professionals have control over and, correspondingly, ultimate responsibility for
their own work. Professionals tend to define the terms, processes, and conditions
of work to be performed for clients (either directly or as preconditions for their
ongoing agency employment).
6. Clients rather than customers
Members of a profession exercise discrimination in choosing clients rather than
simply accepting any interested party as a customer (as merchants do).
7. Direct working relationships
Professionals habitually work directly with their clients rather than through
intermediaries or proxies.
8. Ethical constraints
Due to the other characteristics on this list, there is a clear requirement for ethical
constraints in the professions. Professionals are bound to a code of conduct or
ethics specific to the distinct profession (and sometimes the individual).
Professionals also aspire toward a general body of core values, which are
centered upon an uncompromising and unconflicted regard for the client's benefit
and best interests.
9. Merit-based
In a profession, members achieve employment and success based on merit and
corresponding voluntary relationships rather than on corrupted ideals such as
social principle, mandated support, or extortion (e.g. union members are not
professionals). Therefore, a professional is one who must attract clients and
profits due to the merits of his work. In the absence of this characteristic, issues
of responsibility, accountability, and ethical constraints become irrelevant,
negating any otherwise-professional characteristics.
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10. Capitalist morality

The responsibilities inherent to the practice of a profession are impossible to
rationally maintain without a moral foundation that flows from a recognition of
the singular right of the individual to his own life, along with all of its inherent
and potential sovereign value; a concept that only capitalism recognizes, upholds
and protects.

INTRODUCTION

A profession is an occupation which is founded upon specialized educational training

for the purpose of which is to supply objective service to others for directly and definite
compensation without expectation of business gain.There many professions in the
world some of them includes law ,medicine,teaching ,banking and many others.There
following is the general characteristics of a profession.

Specialized competence. Professions are established and maintained for the sole
purpose of offering special high quality essential services to the members of the wider
society. For this to be realized members of the profession must possess special
competence which is not possessed by other people who are not members. In this
respect there a systematic exposure to specific and technical body of knowledge by
those who are members. the profession is an exclusive society distinguished from the
rest of mankind by special insight and ability of members.

4 Necessary Steps to Professionalize the Teaching Profession

Creating that “aha moment” of understanding requires no shortage of finesse.

You not only need to understand the topic yourself, but you also need to know how to explain it
to another person and work through any disconnections for that learner. Now, add 25 more
people to that experience — each with their own needs and realities — and it’s easy to see why
teaching is such a demanding, challenging, and rewarding profession.
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Yet many people don’t see teaching as a profession; they view it as a job that attracts people who
want summer breaks. But those of us in the industry know that this couldn’t be further from the
truth, and it’s up to us to lend authority to the profession.

Here are four steps you can take to professionalize teaching:

1. Recognize the importance of your work. Doctors aren’t the only professionals with
bragging rights. The ability to inspire others to learn can be just as impactful as fixing a broken
limb. In fact, some would argue that it’s more influential.

Start encouraging conversations about the significance of your work, and explain the
challenges of doing it well. Most people have spent at least one year in the classroom of a
teacher that inspired them to learn, and they would probably agree that this person had a
greater impact on their future than their pediatrician.

2. Use supporting research. There’s plenty of research that highlights how highly trained, effective
teachers are critical to students’ short- and long-term success.

A study by the RAND Corporation found that teachers have two to three times the impact on a
student’s test performance in reading and math than any other school-related factor,
including leadership.

Another study by a trio of economists out of Harvard and Columbia universities tracked 2.5
million students for 20 years and found that a “high value-added teacher” provided a variety of
benefits, including an immediate increase in end-of-year test scores. Students of high value-
added teachers are also more likely to attend college, avoid teen pregnancy, and earn more
money. In fact, learning under a high value-added teacher for just one year can increase a
child’s lifetime income by an average of $80,000.

3. Stress the multifaceted nature of teaching. As a teacher, you can’t assume you know enough
about a subject to teach it to a room full of students with 100 percent success 100 percent of the
time. Much like other professions, to teach effectively, you need to have experience in a wide
range of topics — often with hands-on experience and in-depth training.
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Additionally, teachers must be effective communicators, social organizers, problem solvers,

and (depending on the district) school counselors. On top of that, it takes a great deal of
innovation to find the funds — sometimes out of your own pocket — to secure necessary
supplies.

4. Contribute to the teaching community at large. While it can take just one teacher to inspire a
student, it’s important to remember that you’re not the only teacher shaping minds. That being
said, it’s essential to be involved in the general teaching community.

Look for ways to work with colleagues to create a supportive and successful learning
environment and identify opportunities for improvement and ongoing education about the
craft of teaching. Learning Forward, an association devoted to the advancement of
professional learning for student success, has a number of learning opportunities available,
including conferences, seminars, webinars, e-learning courses, and a training academy.

But continued education isn’t always enough. Even the best teachers struggle with putting
new learning approaches into practice, and it can actually take upward of 20 separate practice
teaching exercises to master a new skill. Instituting a mentorship program at your school to
advise teachers before, during, and after a class can make continued education more
worthwhile. If the school becomes a successful learning environment, you further legitimize
the importance of your profession.
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National Professional standards for Teachers in Pakistan

Standard Based Teacher Education and Quality Assurance
Areas of continuous development for teachers:
i.

Updated knowledgeii.

Use of Instructional tools, strategiesiii.

Monitoring, and assessing of student learning outcomes.iv.

Cultivating ethical dispositions in students

1.

Standard based approaches to development of teachers

i.

Scholarly preparation of all subjectsii.

In depth knowledge of the subjectsiii.

Knowledge of general and content-specific methodsiv.

Knowledge of learning theories.v.

Working according to professional code of conductvi.

Foster creative teachers.

2: Standard Based Teacher Education and Quality AssuranceStandards states that
teacher must know
i.

What is good teaching and successful learningii.

Teacher’s in
-classroom experiencesiii.

Levels of acceptable performance for teachers

3. Environment Scan
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There are 227, 791 institutions in Pakistan comprises of 73.5% Rural, 26.5% Urban
teachingvariety of curricular schemes including public and private pre-primary, primary,
middle,secondary, higher secondary, universities, technical, mosques, Deeni Madaris O and A
Levels.Number of teaching staff:Total teachers 1,356, 802 50.7% Rural and 49.3%
Urban.Male: 41.2% and Female 58.8%
4. Professional Standards for Initial Preparation of Teachers in Pakistan
Standard
1: subject matterknowledge
Teachers understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry,structures of the discipline,
especially as they relate to theNational Curriculum/content standards, and
designingdevelopmentally appropriate learning experiences making thesubject matter
accessible and meaningful to all students.
2. Human growth anddevelopment
Teachers understand how children and adolescents develop andlearn in variety of schools,
family and community contexts and