Chapter 8: Advancing Teaching as a Profession: Teacher Working Conditions and the Case of South Carolina

The history of the teaching profession in America is complex, often framed by the struggle to determine who teaches what, how, under what conditions—and at what cost. Sociologists have referred to teaching as a semi-profession because its knowledge base has not been well defined and consistently used, and its members have very little control over who enters the field and how they are judged (Etzioni, 1969). Teachers are expected to be authoritarians with their students, but always subservient to political, bureaucratic, and school managerial authorities on policy and practice matters. They are often admired for service by parents but just as often bear the brunt of disdain when public education is being criticized (Berry, 2011). Indeed, efforts to professionalize teaching have been “rife with political dynamics, social drama, and philosophical debate” (Rousmaniere, 2005). Additionally, school workplace structures isolate teachers from each other, preventing them from learning from and leading with their collective expertise, tamping down the prospects for their professionalization (Lortie, 1975).