Revitalizing Professionalism in Teachers

The hope of revitalising school education is driven towards the professional and personal growth of the teacher. The professional preparation of teachers has been recognised to be crucial for the qualitative improvement of education (Kothari Commission, 1964-66). The emphasis in the teacher education programme should be on enabling the trainees to acquire the ability for self-learning and independent thinking. Teachers should have possession of professional knowledge and professional status. Teachers are expected to carry out their professional tasks in accordance with their judgment, without bias. Consistent with the objectives, content, pedagogy and assessment for different stages of the curriculum, the teachers must be oriented and should be constant learners. In this paper, three dimensions of learning are emphasised on the part of professional teachers 1) Cognitive Learning 2) Emotional Learning and 3) Situational Learning. It is understood that in order to strengthen professionalism, the teachers must be allowed for expertise to be shared with a wide range of teachers through conferences. The teacher must be resourceful and practitioner of teaching and learning. Thus, professional learning is practical in character.