McDiarmid (1995) describes the changing roles of teachers:
"Learning new instructional roles in the classroom is only part of what
teachers must do to realize the reform. Teachers must also assume new roles
outside of the classroom. When many of today's teachers chose the
profession, expectations--although always high--were modest compared to those
embodied in the reform. Generally, teachers were expected to follow the
directives of their principal and the school board, teach the curriculum
supplied by the district, honor local values, and keep parents informed of
their children's performance. The official curriculum--consisting primarily of
information and procedures that teachers were supposed to ensure that students
remembered--posed modest intellectual challenge. Most of what teachers were
expected to teach was the same information and procedures they themselves had
learned as students. Student learning was assessed with standardized,
multiple-choice test that might or might not cover what teachers actually
taught. . . .
[Today] new expectations for teachers have been established. Teachers are
expected to:
Collaborate with colleagues, administrators and parents in making key
policy decisions for their schools.
Plan their own professional development.
Assume new roles as instructional leaders in the classroom, helping
students develop their communication and critical capacities as well as
conceptual understandings of subject matters.
Assess students's capacities to apply what they learn.
Help all students--regardless of background, ethnicity, gender, or
exceptionally--achieve the ambitious learner outcomes." (p. 6)
References