Teaching As A Professional Discipline

The lack of a unified theory of teaching is a major issue in education. Current training and assessment methods are based on conflicting theories. The author suggests a new integrated model of teaching based on the characteristics of a professional teacher: being instrumental, contingent, and procedural. This model aims to provoke thought and discussion among education researchers, teacher trainers, and those interested in the professional discipline of teaching.

This work argues that the lack of agreed theory of teaching is one of the most important and yet intractable problems facing education. Questions of training and assessment currently take place according to the criteria of many and diverse theories, most of which are dualistic and incompatible with each other. The author proposes a new intergrated model of teaching, derived from aspects of the professional discipline of teaching. The three characteristics of the professional teacher are laid out - being instrumental, being contingent, and being procedural. The questions asked are: what do teachers do?; what affects what they do?; and how do they do it? The resulting multi-dimensional model seeks to challenge and stimulate education researchers and teacher trainers, as well as those with an interest in the constitution of professional discipline.