ABSTRACT

Dominant policy discourses in Australia define teacher professionalism as a technical accomplishment. Within this technical framing, teacher learning is largely understood as the acquisition of skills, with teacher practice helping students meet pre-determined outcomes. Despite the dominance of such discourses, teacher professionalism and learning have not always been thought of in these reductive ways. This paper reports on an intergenerational, dialogic inquiry into the careers of 12 long-serving English teachers, presenting two cases from the project. The study used life history methods to interview retired or late career English teachers in the state of Victoria, Australia. An analysis of the interviews indicated that professional learning was vital in sustaining generative careers. Many of the professional engagement activities described by teachers in the project involved acts of stewardship or care for the teaching profession itself. The paper advances ‘care of the profession’ as a concept that makes visible the many acts of professional engagement and learning beyond individualistic and performative understandings of teaching and that invest in education as a ‘going concern’. We argue that practices constituting ‘care of the profession’ are sites for democratic participation in the teaching profession and are essential elements of a critically engaged and agentive professionalism.

摘要

澳大利亚的主导政策话语将教师专业精神定义为一种技术成就。在这个技术框架内，教师学习在很大程度上被理解为技能的获取，教师的实践帮助学生达到预定的结果。尽管此类话语占主导地位，但教师的专业精神和学习并不总是以这些简化的方式来思考。本文报告了对 12 名长期任职的英语教师职业生涯的代际对话调查，并介绍了该项目中的两个案例。该研究使用生活史方法采访了澳大利亚维多利亚州退休或已故职业英语教师。对访谈的分析表明，专业学习对于维持创造性职业至关重要。教师在项目中描述的许多专业参与活动都涉及对教学职业本身的管理或关心行为。该论文提出了“职业关怀”这一概念，使许多职业参与和学习行为变得可见，超越了对教学的个人主义和表演性理解，并将教育作为“持续关注”进行投资。我们认为，构成“职业关怀”的实践是教师职业民主参与的场所，也是批判性参与和积极主动的专业精神的基本要素。该论文提出了“职业关怀”这一概念，使许多职业参与和学习行为变得可见，超越了对教学的个人主义和表演性理解，并将教育作为“持续关注”进行投资。我们认为，构成“职业关怀”的实践是教师职业民主参与的场所，也是批判性参与和积极主动的专业精神的基本要素。该论文提出了“职业关怀”这一概念，使许多职业参与和学习行为变得可见，超越了对教学的个人主义和表演性理解，并将教育作为“持续关注”进行投资。我们认为，构成“职业关怀”的实践是教师职业民主参与的场所，也是批判性参与和积极主动的专业精神的基本要素。