"The world has changed, so must the education system and the teaching profession!" (Education Commission, 2000.).
It is of no doubt that the society has undergone unprecedented changes over the past few decades. People are becoming more and more concerned about education, from the demand for compulsory education to the quality of education. In order to cope with the rapid changes in the contemporary world and meet the challenges of the future society, the education system has also changed in order to produce what the society needs. For example, the Education Reform in the recent years no longer emphasize on the academic achievements of the students. More importantly, the aim of education should help students to achieve whole person development, as well as to engage in life-long learning (Education Commission, 2000). .
Teachers, as the frontline workers in the field of education, are facing a lot of challenges because they are expected to change their roles in order to echo with the new requirements of the Education Reform that aims to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning. As a potential frontline worker in the field of education, it is very important for me to have a deep understanding about the changes about teaching profession. This would definitely give me a comprehensive picture about my future career so that I can prepare myself for future challenges. .
In this assignment, the concept of teaching profession, professionalization and professionalism will be discussed in the first part. The challenges faced by teachers in recent years will then be investigated. After knowing the challenges, this assignment is going evaluate to what extent does the government help the teachers to face the challenges.
2. The concept of Teaching Profession, Professionalization, Professionalism.
The term " profession" has been widely used in different occupations of the society. According to Law (2001), professions are exclusive occupations and there are 3 common defining characteristics: expertise, autonomy and altruism.