Teaching
Teaching is the practice implemented by a
Teaching is part of the broader concept of education.[2][3]
Profession
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
Informally the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. when showing a colleague how to perform a specific task). In some countries, teaching young people of school age may be carried out in an informal setting, such as within the family (homeschooling), rather than in a formal setting such as a school or college. Some other professions may involve a significant amount of teaching (e.g. youth worker, pastor).
In most countries, formal teaching of students is usually carried out by paid professional teachers. This article focuses on those who are employed, as their main role, to teach others in a formal education context, such as at a school or other place of initial formal education or training.Training
Teaching in non-human animals
Teaching has been considered uniquely human because of mentalistic definitions. Indeed, in psychology, teaching is defined by the intention of the teacher, which is to transmit information and/or behavior and/or skill. This implies the need for the teacher to assess the knowledge state of the potential learner, thus to demonstrate theory of mind abilities. As theory of mind and intentions are difficult (if not impossible) to assess in non-humans, teaching was considered uniquely human.[4] However, if teaching is defined by its function, it is then possible to assess its presence among non-human species. Caro and Hauser[5] suggested a functionalist definition. For a behavior to be labeled as teaching, three criteria must be met :
- The behavior of the "teacher" must be observed only in the presence of a naive individual
- The behavior represents a cost for the teacher, or at least no direct benefit
- The possible consequence of the behavior is a learning gain for the learner
References
- ISBN 978- 2-8041-6936-7.
- OCLC 922630409.
- OCLC 871305750.
- .
- doi:10.1086/417553.
Further reading
- Cordier, Mary Hurlbut (1992). Schoolwomen of the prairies and plains : personal narratives from Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, 1860s-1920s (1st ed.). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. OCLC 25786967.
- Elsbree, Willard S. (1939). The American Teacher: Evolution of a Profession in a Democracy (1st ed.). New York: American Book Company. OCLC 120903.
- Parkerson, Donald H.; Parkerson, Jo Ann (2008). The American Teacher: Foundations of Education. New York: Routledge, ISBN 9780203895122.
- Pavlidis, Periklis (2023-01-08). "Teachers' Work as a Form of Intellectual Activity in Conditions of Their Proletarianisation". Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies. 20 (3). ISSN 1740-2743.
- Wyman, Andrea (1997). Rural Women Teachers in the United States: A Sourcebook. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. OCLC 34321265.