Upholding public trust: an examination of teacher professionalism and the use of Teachers’ Standards in England

Abstract

This paper considers the nature of teacher professionalism in England today, tracing how it has changed and developed according to the impact of government policy and the introduction of standards for teachers. It examines the recently published Teachers’ Standards with their emphasis on classroom practice together with the requirement for teachers to uphold public trust. The nature of trust is discussed along with the factors which contribute to its development. Values which inform professional judgement are outlined along with professional qualities, dispositions or characteristics which are argued as being vital to the effective expression of professionalism. It is considered that the upholding of public trust depends more on the exercising of professional qualities or dispositions within the context of agreement making, than adherence to standards and other methods of externally imposed accountability. However, an examination of the Teachers’ Standards shows that the emphasis on professional attributes contained in the previous standards has been dispensed with. This paper argues that adherence to the new Teachers’ Standards which are deliberately ‘assessable’ is likely to result in tick-box professionalism and advocates an emphasis on the expression of professional qualities such as respect in order to develop and maintain public trust.

Keywords:

• professionalism
• standards
• accountability
• professional qualities
• public trust