THE GREAT BARRIER TO TEACHING PROFESSION: TECHNICISM RETHINKING THE MEANING OF PROFESSIONALISM THROUGH TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Teaching as a profession requires professional training, knowledge, hands-on practice, certain competences to raise individuals who will shape the future of the society. Therefore, teachers should adopt key roles for societal transformation. In this study, we aimed to explore the meaning of teaching profession based on teachers’ professional experiences. We adopted a phenomenological research design focusing on the experiences of the participants and the phenomena that result from their experiences. The participants are 50 teachers working at primary, secondary and high schools in Turkey. We collected the data using a semi-structured interview form and we used inductive content analysis. At the end of the analysis, two themes emerged “teacher as a professional” and “teacher as a technician”. The results of the study will be of importance to raise awareness about these two major concepts in teaching profession and help us rethink the current roles of teachers for the society.