Abstract

Teachers have long held the ambition that teaching will be classified as a profession in functionalist sociological terms, since it would bring guaranteed social prestige and recognition. In non-professional discussions, teaching is probably considered a profession, primarily because it carries within it the notion of “mission”. If, however, we consider the strict criteria against which professions are measured, then teaching comes out badly (an impossible profession) or slightly better (a semi-profession). If we choose the more positive pathway and accept that teaching is professionalizing and that it will one day be considered a standard profession, then we encounter a number of obstacles which we believe will preclude this ambition. This paper aims to address some aspects of contemporary pedagogical discourse which may be considered as constraints in the professionalization of teaching. One such example is the vigorous call for practice to be linked to teacher training.