Is Teaching a Profession or an Occupation?
The responses to my blogs on professional autonomy have led me to answer the question: Is teaching a profession that can claim a degree of professional autonomy, or is it an occupation where practitioners function primarily as employees?
The debate about classification of teaching as either a profession or an occupation prompted by my blogs has also been a subject of debate among educators, sociologists, and policymakers. Among scholars, professions are typically defined by specific characteristics, including specialized knowledge, formal education, ethical codes, autonomy, commitment to public good, continuous development, and exclusivity of practice. These criteria help to distinguish professions from occupations. For example, Ernest Greenwood identifies five core attributes of professions: systematic theory, professional authority, community sanction, ethical codes, and professional culture. These attributes provide a useful lens through which to evaluate teaching.[1]
Greenwood argues that professionals apply a body of knowledge to analyze, understand, and solve problems systematically. Teachers tend to draw their professional knowledge primarily from practice, peer collaboration, and contextual experience. They often rely heavily on practical experience and trial-and-error, believing that such knowledge more immediately relevant than abstract theories. While research and formal pedagogical theories are sometimes taught in teacher education programs, they are often seen as too detached from the realities of the classroom. Teachers are more apt to rely on strategies proven effective through personal or shared experience. Peers and contextual factors exert a more powerful influence on practice than theory.
Teachers may find it difficult to claim professional authority, given that they rely so heavily on practice-based knowledge, peer collaboration, and contextual experience rather than a predominantly theoretical foundation. Professional authority, as Greenwood argues, depends on a systematic body of knowledge that sets professionals apart from laypersons, granting them the ability to diagnose needs and prescribe solutions with exclusive expertise. While teaching involves specialized pedagogical knowledge, its practical orientation and the prioritization of teacher experience dilutes teachers’ claims of authoritative expertise.
Greenwood’s third criterion, community sanction, refers to the formal and informal approval that society grants to professions, sanctioning their exclusive right to perform their work. In the case of teachers, licensure (certification) is a form of public recognition, but teaching’s level of community sanction is less robust than fields like medicine or law. Teachers’ authority and autonomy are limited by external oversight from government bodies, school boards, and administrators. Teaching is not a self-regulated profession in most jurisdictions. Moreover, teacher autonomy is limited in the absence of teacher specialization. Where the prevailing ideology is that “a teacher is a teacher is a teacher” teachers will find it difficult to claim their judgments should be regarded as authoritative.
Greenwood says that ethical codes are a hallmark of professionalism. These codes set out the profession's commitment to societal welfare and ensure that its members act in ways that maintain public trust. They are often explicit and are enforced through peer oversight and professional organizations. Such codes bind professionals to values like integrity, universalism, and disinterested service that hold them accountable to clients and society.
In teaching, ethical codes are reflected in professional standards that prioritize the welfare and development of students. Codes such as those outlined by teacher licensing boards or unions provide guidance and accountability. However, the enforcement of these codes often depends on external entities like school boards or administrators. This limits teaching’s ‘self-regulatory capacity’ compared to other professions.
Greenwood defines professional culture as the shared values, norms, and symbols that bind members of a profession and create a distinct identity. A professional culture exists in teaching but is less pronounced and cohesive than professions like medicine or law. Teachers share a set of values centered on student welfare, equity, and lifelong learning that are aligned with the ethical and service-oriented dimensions of professional culture.
Teaching is less a profession than it is an occupation because it lacks several defining attributes of a profession. First, while professions like medicine or law are grounded in a systematic body of theoretical knowledge that is consistently applied to practice, teaching often prioritizes experiential and context-specific knowledge over theory. This reliance on practice-based insights, though valuable, undermines the perception of teaching as a theory-driven field. Second, teaching is subject to significant external regulation by policymakers, administrators, and school boards, limiting the autonomy that is a hallmark of professions. Unlike self-regulating professions that enforce standards through peer accountability, teachers operate within frameworks largely dictated by external authorities.
Teaching struggles to assert exclusive control over its domain. In many jurisdictions, individuals without formal teaching qualifications can teach, diluting the exclusivity typically associated with professions. The societal recognition and prestige afforded to teaching do not match those of established professions like law or engineering. While teachers play a crucial role in shaping society, their work is undervalued in terms of compensation and perceived status. These factors collectively position teaching closer to an occupation, where external oversight and practical considerations dominate, rather than an autonomous and self-regulating profession.
[1] Greenwood, E., "Attributes of a Profession." Social Work, 2 (3), 1957, pp. 45–55.