Publisher's Synopsis
Teaching is a profession that is considered to be a rewarding challenging and complex role.
An effective teacher does not simply teach knowledge their students and instead aims to arm
students with the knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes that will prepare students for
life-long learning. The modern theories have impacted on the way that teachers teach and this
has changed the approach of teaching to place a greater importance on the teacher instead to
act as a facilitator of learning in an open, constructivist environment and providing students
with the tools to challenge themselves to develop both academically and personally.
Teacher is a facilitator, is a friend, and is a philosopher. The main purpose of teachers should
be to develop in each student his / her general education and personal culture, ability to
identify ones potentials, educate others, to create an awareness of the principles which
underlines good human relations and a sense of the responsibility to lead as an example to
social, cultural and economic progress in the society. The nation building task will be
performed under the leadership of a brilliant set of teachers who will develop the creative
abilities of the teeming millions of the country.
Teachers need to be seen as creators of knowledge and thinking professionals. A teacher
needs to be an information provider, role model, facilitator, assessor, planner, resource and
developer. Educated teachers, with wide knowledge, command the respect of fellow teachers
and the people in their communities. They need to be empowered to recognise and value
what children learn from their home, social and cultural environment and to create
opportunities for children to discover, learn and develop.
Teachers play an important role in educating the future members of a society through their
work in schools. Furthermore, teachers in institutions of higher education, in technical
training colleges and in centres of lifelong learning and recurrent education play a critical
part in advancing economic and technological development as well as sustaining the wellbeing
of the societies they serve. Consequently, the factors influencing the levels of
commitment of the teachers in schools and in the wider education systems must necessarily
be the focus of an important field of research leading to the introduction of reform and
change within classrooms and lecture theatres, schools, institutions and learning centres, and
national systems of education. This study is not only concerned with the importance of
teacher commitment at all levels of education, with conceptualizing teacher commitment and
with the dimensions or different types of commitment, but also with the influences of
leadership and working conditions on teacher commitment as well as with the development
and maintenance of high levels of commitment among teachers. In addition to considering
the effects of antecedent personal characteristics of teachers on their levels of commitment,
this chapter also considers the effects of social groups, such as the body of teachers within a
school or institution on the individual members of the group.
