Status of Teaching Profession from the Perspective of the Teachers

Abstract

Purpose: The status of the teaching profession isessential because it can affect teachers ' perspectiveon the profession, motivation levels, and professionaldisciplines. This study aims to investigate whichdirection the status of the teaching profession haschanged from past to present, factors affecting thechange in the status, and what can be done to increasethe status of the teaching profession.Methods: A total of 54 voluntary teachers from 18districts in Trabzon province participated in this study. In light of the conceptual framework,a semi-structured interview form was used to collect data. Data were resolved and interpretedby content analysis.Findings: In this research, all teachers affirmed that the status of the teaching profession haschanged from past to present negatively. Teachers expressed the factors that affect this changemost, the policies followed by the system, the value of teachers in society, the loss of prestigeand the low income of teachers. Teachers 'opinions on what can be done to increase the statusof the teaching profession, most of all, the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) values theteacher, teachers' working and personal rights to improve, teachers self-developmentstatements are prominent.Implications for Research and Practice: The findings obtained in this study suggest thatteachers should conduct a wider range of research and take measures to improve their statuslevels using different methods.