ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the things that can and have been said about the professionalization of teachers. It considers the lists of criteria which purport to set out the salient features of a profession as stipulative definitions. The chapter argues that discussions about the present state of teaching as a profession will be treated from the perspective of descriptive definitions. H. S. Broudy considered that the notion of the 'professional teacher' is, in his words, 'a mischievous illusion'. The teacher is expected to assume a special role as an agent who represents well the best interests of the parents, the community and the society. Eric Hoyle set out what he says is an incomplete list of 'sub-roles of teachers' because of lack of research into the classroom behaviour of teachers. The three key areas in which G. I. Maeroff argues that 'teachers can be lifted' are: 'their status, their knowledge and their access to decision making'.
