THE TEACHING PROFESSION: AN INTERESTING JOURNEY

Mogboh, Veronica E. (2017) THE TEACHING PROFESSION: AN INTERESTING JOURNEY. Joebest Publisher. ISBN 978-978-85317-0-2

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Abstract

Teaching commands respect all over the civilized and developing world. This is because teaching is a noble profession, which deals with intellectual matters and necessitates a service mastery technique to maintain its contextual relevance. Teaching is universal in nature, maintaining some measure of traits across cultural boundaries. The teaching profession in its formal environment embodies same principles ingrained in the universally accepted ethics and norms of a profession. Teachers engage in unique assignments that address the most vital interests of every nation. Teachers carry out a complex set of activities highly valued by the society and put them in an exalted status which by inference, their reward is not dependent on economic or commensurate with remuneration. According to Alberta Teachers Association (2008), “Teaching is a specialized application of knowledge, skills and attributes designed to provide unique services to meet educational needs of individuals and society. “ They emphasize that the choice of learning activities whereby the goals of education are realised in the school is the responsibility of the teaching profession. Fafunwa (1972) affirms that there is no professional group that influences the lives of the Nigerian youth than the teaching profession. And any impact made on youths is an impact on the future of the nation. Contributing to the indispensable role of teachers in national development, Oyekan (2000) declared that industrial harmony, peace and progress will be elusive in the schools and the nation unless the teachers are fully integrated into the social, economic and political framework of the society with proportionate benefits for their multilateral contributions to nation building. The teaching profession is generic to all other professions. Teaching emanate from learning through teachers ab initio. The success in all sectors of developed countries will always trace their roots to the quality of their teaching profession. The long chain of all other professions like science, medicine, law and engineering even religion, originate from the teaching profession. It is widely accepted that to teach is to instruct, to impart knowledge and to guide pupils to learn properly. But that is only a part of the education process. The latter is an all inclusive and exclusive attitude to development which includes travelling, entertainment, campaigns, workshops, conferences, projects, programmes etc. In Nigeria, teaching has been seen as a mere activity, occupation and vocation for the academic losers. Akinduyo (2014) continues to posit that some people even refer to teachers as substitutes on the bench of life who are left with no option than to proceed and get employed into the teaching profession. It is becoming increasingly worrisome in Nigeria that teaching profession has moved from the foreground to the background. And the aftermath are continuous insecurity, underdevelopment, unemployment, retrogression, corruption, indoctrination, low technological advancement, economic inefficiency, diffidence and criminality, cultism, mediocrity, students’ and workers’ unrest etc. The list is unending and builds up geometrically. The question then has to be asked; who are eligible to be accorded the title ‘teacher’ with the new wave of globalised digitalization of knowledge, teaching and learning. Teachers in Nigeria of necessity need to go a step forward beyond the present development of the country to match the aggressive competitive pace of globalism. Nigeria entertains three types of education: traditional, Islamic and contemporary western contents. Long before western education was introduced; the religious belief and culture of society were transmitted by the parents, elders, Arabic teachers and the community at large. This was done through instruction, initiation and example which procedure has continued in the present ‘western’ type of teaching and learning. But the classroom in the western contemporary type is often a limiting demarcation between the school and community. In most Nigerian homes therefore, everybody is in some sense a teacher and there is amongst most of the people a consuming desire for education in one form or another. It is therefore necessary to distinguish what is meant precisely of the word ‘teacher’ in the context of contemporary education. This is in the context that teaching profession has been internationalized cutting across borders and includes all those who transmit knowledge in any formalized system. Therefore, teaching as an internationalized profession has provoked challenges in Nigeria which need objective analysis, interpretation and implementation within the universally accepted norms, values and processes of guiding growing generations.

Item Type:	Book
Subjects:	L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > Faculty of Law > Faculty of Management and Social Sciences > Faculty of Education
Depositing User:	miss lydia lydia
Date Deposited:	03 Oct 2019 13:45
Last Modified:	03 Oct 2019 13:45
URI:	http://eprints.gouni.edu.ng/id/eprint/2264

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