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PART 1

The overarching debate on whether teaching is considered an authentic profession has caused
widespread controversy over the past decade. Delving into George Bernard Shaw’s infamous aphorism
‘He who can does; he who cannot teachers’, Shaw has deliberately come out to plague all members of
the teaching profession and declare what they do as ‘trivial’ and ‘second best’. In light of this, many
have come out to criticise against Shaw’s malicious maxim to proclaim that it is the most egregiously
false axiom ever perpetuated(Schultz, V. 2007).More specifically, many have drawn upon the profound
and complex key teaching and learning frameworks that all teachers apply in their daily work as
contemporary educators, to help defend against the competing discourses that declare teaching to not
be a profession. Furthermore, the interrelated concepts of professionalism, curriculum, pedagogy and
assessment heavily stipulated in a teachers’ daily work is strongly believed to correlate with the
definition of a profession. A profession is defined as a “group of disciplined individuals who apply
knowledge and skills in the interests of others and adhere to ethical standards”(Professions Australia,
2015).In respect of this, the paper will appraise the interrelationship between the key teaching
concepts to demonstrate the authenticity present in the teaching profession in attempt to put Shaw’s
maxim to rest.

Exploring contemporary Australian educators’ responsibility towards possessing special knowledge and
skills in accordance with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers stipulated in AITSL provides
us with an insight into the level of professionalism the teaching profession presents against other
proficient occupations.Sachs (2003) describes professionalism as “demonstrating public ethical code of
practice, collaborative and collegial work, level of self-regulation, policy-active, flexible and progressive
system, enquiry-orientated and knowledge building”(Demirkasimoglu, N. 2010).Similarly, AITSL
standards set for teachers also emphasises the importance of “professional learning, understanding
student background circumstances, implement effective learning through planning and providing
supportive and learning environment” which convincingly is linked to Sachs physiognomies of
professionalism(AITSL, 2011).More specifically, teachers are not only accountable and responsible to
plan and teach subject content, but they must also display a level of dexterity in being relational with
their students.In light of this, the task for teachers to conform with AITSL standards so that they could
be accredited to work in the teaching profession demonstrates the level of complexity teachers need
to display in their daily work, reinforcing the level of professionalism demonstrated in the teaching
profession.Further, not only are educators required to meet standards stipulated in AITSL handbook
but are also required to meet specific accreditation levels if they wish to become proficient and lead
teachers.The intricacy of gathering evidence from the standards over a specific period of their teaching
time must be sustained and examined to be allowed to go up levels of accreditation.Subsequently, pre-
service teachers who which to pursue a teaching career are not just required to complete a masters’
degree but must also meet extrinsic criteria, such as meet specific requirements set by NSW Great
Teaching Inspired Learning, complete quest interviews and national literacy and numeracy tests.The
density and complexity pre-service teachers’ must follow in hopes to becoming qualified and proficient
teachers undeniably gives both authenticity and creditability to the teaching profession.

Obedience to standards alone does not represent the level of complexity teachers face every day in
their commitment to becoming professional educators. Academic creditability derived from the
Australian curriculum and taught to students by teachers must ensure that all young Australians
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“become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed
citizens”(AITSL, 2012). The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)
emphasises the importance of education in shaping the lives of the nation’s future citizens and provides
a curriculum to set out what needs to be taught, what students need to learn and the expected quality
of that learning. Teachers’ play the primary audience for the Australian Curriculum in that they must
translate curriculum content to help plan and teach all students with different capabilities. The complex
instruction for teachers to plan effective classroom modules derives from ensuring that every student
has been given the opportunity to learn and apply new knowledge outside the teaching space. For
instance, teachers are required to make appropriate adjustments to the complexity of the curriculum
content descriptions and achievement standards for students with special needs(ACARA, 2012). Also,
cross-curriculum priorities stipulated in the curriculum, requires teachers to address contemporary
topics such as Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander histories and cultures inside the classroom to
ensure students are cultivated about the outside world. Again, the level of complexity in the work
expected by teachers indisputably puts to rest Shaw’s maxim that clearly does not reflect contemporary
educators.

The interrelationship between a teacher’s responsibility to follow the general teaching standards
provided by AITSL and apply the Australian curriculum to students’ does not on its own contribute to
the authenticity and creditability of the teaching profession. Hattie (2003) describes the practice of
pedagogy, where teachers are astoundingly “capable in integrating content knowledge derived from
the curriculum with students’ past knowledge and make lessons uniquely their own according to
student’s needs”.Also, teachers are profoundly proficient in creating optimal classroom climates for
learning and are adept at monitoring student problems and assessing their level of understanding and
progress. The measure of effectiveness of a teachers’ pedagogical practices is examined by NSW Quality
Teaching Model(QTM) which is aimed as a “self-reflection tool for teachers to help them understand,
analyse and focus their own teaching practices for improved student learning”(Gore, J et al. 2003).The
three dimensions of pedagogy including intellectual quality, quality learning environment and
significance are features of classroom practice that have been limited to improving student outcomes.
In saying that, teachers are required to evaluate the three dimensions of pedagogy with their own
teaching practices and ensure knowledge delivered to students has been maximised.The degree of
complexity in teacher’s daily work to ensure what they are delivering to students is reciprocated by
their performance puts a lot of pressure on teachers to make sure what they are teaching is effective.

Considering the teachers’ responsibility towards following standards, regularly planning classroom
modules according to the Australian curriculum and reflecting on ones’ personal teaching pedagogical
practice brings about the key learning concept of assessment which draws upon all four key learning
concepts that helps teachers assess whether their pedagogical approach has been reciprocated to
students’ performing well. In order words, teachers are required to assess student learning through
variety of assessment strategies, including ‘informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative
approaches’(Graduate Standard 5.1). For instance, teachers are required to use formative assessment,
also known as ‘assessment for learning’ as a technique to modify their teaching activities in response
to students learning. The intricate involvement teachers’ must demonstrate when gathering data on
students’ performance illustrates a prominent level of complexity in their daily work by constantly
assessing if all students are understanding subject content, show a level of interest, and are enjoying
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the teaching learning environment. Subsequently, the summative assessment of NAPLAN (the National
Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) also evaluates teachers performance to student
learning by the nation setting up an exam that tests all students’ numeracy and literacy capabilities in
comparison with the whole nation. In saying this, schools are speculated to feel under pressure for
students to perform well in the national exam as it is believed that the test reflects on the schools’
reputation. Moreover, the underlying pressure faced by schools, spirals down to teachers who begin to
feel overwhelmed with schools’ expectations and the morale of students who are too stressed to sit
the exam. A survey carried out by the University of Western Sydney’s Whitlam Institute found that
“students were showing increasing levels of stress, with children crying, experiencing sleepless nights
and even hiding under their desks as the tests approach”(ABC NEWS, 2012). Also, teachers begin to
suffer feelings of tension and anxiety who not must only deal with pressures from school and students
but are also required to tailor their teaching pedagogy to content specifically covered by NAPLAN, which
is a test that offers very narrow curriculum offerings and pedagogical restrictions. The survey also found
that “more than 8,000 teachers were spending more time on teaching specifically for the test, and less
time on face-to-face learning”(ABC NEWS, 2012). The complex task to implement mandated political
policy when it conflicts with ones own professional ideology, educational philosophy and views on best
practice, gives so much praise to teachers and the teaching profession who work endlessly to help, and
support students be the best they can be setting aside external pressures. In saying that, Shaw’s
malicious maxim does not slightly reflect the work of contemporary educators, who incorporate
prominent levels of professionalism and care in their work that gives both authenticity and creditability
to the teaching profession.

George Shaw’s unfortunate criticism against the authenticity of the teaching profession clearly does
not reflect on the work of contemporary educators. The interrelationship between the four teaching
concepts, professionalism, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment clearly substantiates teaching to be
not just a profession, but one that is authentic and credible.
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PART B

While the Australian Curriculum stipulates the general provisions of what teachers need to teach, the
disciplinary knowledge, skills and understandings that they must master to design and implement rich
learning opportunities for students,it also recognises that all students are not the same, and that
schools and teachers have the responsibility to support each student with their required needs.More
specifically,the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority(ACARA) stipulates that all
students are diverse and places an ‘obligation’ towards teachers to personalise learning to the needs
of ‘every student across all educational settings and contexts’(ACARA, 2016).This notion is consistent
with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers(APST) who also place a requirement towards
teachers to “differentiate their teaching practices to meet the specific learning needs of all students
across the full range of abilities”(AITSL, 2011,standard 1.5).Irrespective of the above,gifted and talented
students are entitled to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning opportunities drawn from the
Australian curriculum and aligned with their individual learning needs, strengths, interests and
goals(ACARA, 2016).

The impact derived from unaddressed student needs is when schools and teachers do not tailor
provisions to diverse students, including gifted and talented learners and therefore student learning is
impaired and as a group are disadvantaged(Collins, 2011).This is manifested when “a bored student
refuses to go to school or refuses to participate because they do not see the point…it then affects their
long-term attitudes to school and self-esteem”(Vonow, B. 2015).The link between an unstimulating
school environment and student underachievement intertwines when learners feel they are not being
challenged or given the opportunity to learn something new every day.Moreover, unaddressed needs
required by gifted and talented students has a significant impact towards students learning and
performance as they begin to feel demotivated and unhappy to be at school anymore.In light of this, it
is imperative that teachers consider the specific learning needs to all of their diverse students and help
give them better learning opportunities.The Ministry of Education (2012) acknowledges that one-way
teachers could help cater to student learning needs is by providing a “learning experience that allows
them to access more advanced content, work through material at a faster pace and systematically
develop their academic interests through individually-tailored experiences”.It is this notion that
teachers have the responsibility to design pedagogical teaching practices and integrate curricular that
best responds to students learning needs.For example, teachers can adopt a differentiated pedagogical
teaching approach that covers the same curriculum content with all students but tailoring some of the
learning activities to take into account student abilities, prior knowledge and basic skills.For instance,
while most students in the class would be given websites by the teacher to use to research information
about the planets in solar system and summarise their information, a student with gifts and talents
could be required to carry out their own research on the internet to find out information about the
planets(ACARA, 2016).The methodological approach provides the student with appropriate
opportunity, stimulation and experiences they need to develop their potential and translate their gifts
into talents.
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REFERENCE LIST

ABC NEWS, (2012), NAPLAN to blame for teacher, student stress: study, 27 November 2012, Retrieved
from <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-26/naplan-tests-putting-kids-under-stress-study-
says/4391452>.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2010), The shape of the
Australian Curriculum, Retrieved from <
http://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum.pdf>.

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2011), Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers, Retrieved from <https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/apst-
resources/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf>.

Collins, M. (2001). The education of gifted children. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.

Demirkasimoglu, N. (2010), Defining ‘Teacher Professionalism’ from different perspectives, Procedia

Social and Behavioural Sciences, Retrieved from <
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Gore, J. & Ladwing, J. (2003), Quality teaching in NSW public schools, NSW Department of Education
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Hattie, J. (2003), Teachers Make a Difference, what is the research evidence?, Australian Council for
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Ministerial Council on Education, Employment and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). (2008). Melbourne
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Professions Australia. (2015), What is a profession?, Retrieved from <

http://www.professions.com.au/about-us/what-is-a-professional>.

Schultz, V. (2007), The peculiar grace of failure: a year of teaching, a lifetime lesson learned, Faith in
Focus, 17 September, Vol. 197(7), Retrieved from https://west-sydney-
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Vonow, B. (2015), Queensland’s gifted students neglected as teachers focus on strugglers, The Courier
Mail, 1 July 2015, Retrieved from < http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queenslands-
gifted-students-neglected-as-teachers-focus-on-strugglers/news-
story/71abeecda6dd78ded1b761c5f9301761>.
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