Professionalism of women and men teachers and other professionals as measured by locus of control, achievement motivation, and Hall's professionalism scale

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the present state of professionalism among public school teachers, with an emphasis on female public school teachers. A secondary purpose was to examine the state of professionalism of men and women in the classic professions, again with an emphasis on women. Differences were examined between men and women public school teachers, with the teachers being divided into two groups. The first group included men and women experienced teachers who were over 32 years of age and who had taught in public school 10 years or more. The second group included men and women beginning teachers who were between 21 and 27 and had taught between three to five years. Differences in professionalism also were examined between public school teachers, as a combined group, and the classic professionals (law, medicine, business, and university teaching).

This study examined professionalism traits of women and men, based on traditionally accepted definitions of professionalism. Traits such as knowledge, autonomy, commitment, organization, and certification were examined as descriptors of professionalism. The following discussion illustrates how these traits were examined in this study.