Teacher

==Competences and qualities required by teachers==

Teaching is a highly complex activity.<ref name="Caena">For a review of literature on competences required by teachers, see F Caena (2011) 'Literature review: Teachers' core competences:  
requirements and development' accessed January 2017 at {{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/strategic-framework/doc/teacher-competences_en.pdf |title=Homepage &#124; European Education Area |access-date=2017-01-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109184019/http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/strategic-framework/doc/teacher-competences_en.pdf |archive-date=9 January 2017 }}</ref>
This is partially because teaching is a social practice, that takes place in a specific context (time, place, culture, socio-political-economic situation etc.) and therefore is shaped by the values of that specific context.<ref name="Cochrane">for a useful discussion see, for example: Cochran-Smith, M.  (2006): 'Policy, Practice, and Politics in Teacher Education', Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press</ref> Factors that influence what is expected (or required) of teachers include history and tradition, social views about the purpose of education, accepted theories about learning, etc.<ref name="Cummings">see for example Cummings, W.K. (2003) 'The Institutions of Education.  A Comparative Study of Educational Development in the Six Core Nations', Providence, MA:
Symposium Books.</ref>

===Competences===
The competences required by a teacher are affected by the different ways in which the role is understood around the world. Broadly, there seem to be four models: 
:the teacher as manager of instruction; 
:the teacher as caring person; 
:the teacher as expert learner; and 
:the teacher as cultural and civic person.<ref name="Caena2">F Caena (2011) 'Literature review: Teachers' core competences: requirements and development' accessed January 2017 at {{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/strategic-framework/doc/teacher-competences_en.pdf |title=Homepage &#124; European Education Area |access-date=2017-01-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109184019/http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/strategic-framework/doc/teacher-competences_en.pdf |archive-date=9 January 2017 }} citing Altet et al., 1996; Conway et al., 2010; Hansen, 2008; Seifert, 1999; Sockett, 2008</ref>

The [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] has argued that it is necessary to develop a shared definition of the skills and knowledge required by teachers, in order to guide teachers' career-long education and professional development.<ref name="OECD">'Teachers Matter:  Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers', 2005, Paris: OECD publications [http://www.oecd.org/edu/teacherpolicy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830172223/https://www.oecd.org/education/school/attractingdevelopingandretainingeffectiveteachers-homepage.htm|date=30 August 2022}}</ref> Some evidence-based international discussions have tried to reach such a common understanding. For example, the [[European Union]] has identified three broad areas of competences that teachers require:
:Working with others
:Working with knowledge, technology and information, and
:Working in and with society.<ref name="Caena3">F Caena (2011) 'Literature review: Teachers' core competences: requirements and development' accessed January 2017 at {{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/strategic-framework/doc/teacher-competences_en.pdf |title=Homepage &#124; European Education Area |access-date=2017-01-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109184019/http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/strategic-framework/doc/teacher-competences_en.pdf |archive-date=9 January 2017 }}</ref>

Scholarly consensus is emerging that what is required of teachers can be grouped under three headings:
:knowledge (such as: the subject matter itself and knowledge about how to teach it, curricular knowledge, knowledge about the educational sciences, psychology, assessment etc.) 
:craft skills (such as lesson planning, using teaching technologies, managing students and groups, monitoring and assessing learning etc.) and 
:dispositions (such as essential values and attitudes, beliefs and commitment).<ref name="Will">Williamson McDiarmid, G.  &  Clevenger-Bright M.  (2008) 'Rethinking Teacher Capacity', in Cochran-Smith, M., Feiman-Nemser, S.  &  Mc Intyre, D.  (Eds.).  'Handbook of Research on  
Teacher Education. Enduring questions in changing contexts'. New York/Abingdon: Routledge/Taylor & Francis cited in F Caena (2011)</ref>

===Qualities===

====Enthusiasm====

[[File:Ashs-teacher-and-students.jpg|thumb|A teacher interacts with older students at a school in New Zealand.]]

It has been found that teachers who showed enthusiasm towards the course materials and students can create a positive learning experience.<ref>Teaching Patterns: a Pattern Language for Improving the Quality of Instruction in Higher Education Settings by Daren Olson. Page 96</ref> These teachers do not teach by rote but attempt to invigorate their teaching of the course materials every day.<ref>Motivated Student: Unlocking the Enthusiasm for Learning by Bob Sullo. Page 62</ref> Teachers who cover the same curriculum repeatedly may find it challenging to maintain their enthusiasm, lest their boredom with the content bore their students in turn. Enthusiastic teachers are rated higher by their students than teachers who did not show much enthusiasm for the course materials.<ref>Barkley, S., & Bianco, T. (2006). The Wonder of Wows. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 42(4), 148-151.</ref>
[[File:Mr. Shake Amargosa.jpg|thumb|A primary school teacher on a picnic with her students, [[Colombia]], 2014]]
Teachers that exhibit enthusiasm are more likely to have engaged, interested and energetic students who are curious about learning the subject matter. Recent research has found a correlation between teacher enthusiasm and students' intrinsic motivation to learn and vitality in the classroom.<ref name="auto">Patrick, B.C., Hisley, J. & Kempler, T. (2000) "What's Everybody so Excited about?": The Effects of Teacher Enthusiasm on Student Intrinsic Motivation and Vitality", The Journal of Experimental Education, Vol. 68, No. 3, pp. 217–236</ref> Controlled, experimental studies exploring intrinsic motivation of college students has shown that nonverbal expressions of enthusiasm, such as demonstrative gesturing, dramatic movements which are varied, and emotional facial expressions, result in college students reporting higher levels of intrinsic motivation to learn.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brooks|first1=Douglas M.|title=The Teacher's Communicative Competence: The First Day of School|journal=Theory into Practice|date=1985|volume=24|issue=1|page=63|doi=10.1080/00405848509543148}}</ref> But even while a teacher's enthusiasm has been shown to improve motivation and increase task engagement, it does not necessarily improve learning outcomes or memory for the material.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Motz|first1=B. A.|last2=de Leeuw|first2=J. R.|last3=Carvalho|first3=P. F.|last4=Liang|first4=K. L.|last5=Goldstone|first5=R. L.|title=A dissociation between engagement and learning: Enthusiastic instructions fail to reliably improve performance on a memory task|journal=PLOS ONE|date=2017|volume=12|issue=7|page=e0181775|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0181775|pmid=28732087|pmc=5521834|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1281775M|doi-access=free}}</ref>

There are various mechanisms by which teacher enthusiasm may facilitate higher levels of intrinsic motivation.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.in/dr-anil-k-rajvanshi/all-of-us-should-be-teachers-even-if-just-for-one-day/ All Of Us Should Be Teachers, Even If Just For One Day] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009112708/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/dr-anil-k-rajvanshi/all-of-us-should-be-teachers-even-if-just-for-one-day/ |date=9 October 2016 }}, Huffington Post, 27 September 2016</ref> 
Teacher enthusiasm may contribute to a classroom atmosphere of energy and enthusiasm which feeds student interest and excitement in learning the subject matter.<ref>Amatora, M. (1950). Teacher Personality: Its Influence on Pupils. Education, 71(3), 154-158</ref> Enthusiastic teachers may also lead to students becoming more self-determined in their own learning process. The concept of mere exposure indicates that the teacher's enthusiasm may contribute to the student's expectations about intrinsic motivation in the context of learning.  Also, enthusiasm may act as a "motivational embellishment", increasing a student's interest by the variety, novelty, and surprise of the enthusiastic teacher's presentation of the material. Finally, the concept of emotional contagion may also apply: students may become more intrinsically motivated by catching onto the enthusiasm and energy of the teacher.<ref name="auto"/>

====Interaction with learners====
Research shows that student motivation and attitudes towards school are closely linked to student-teacher relationships. Enthusiastic teachers are particularly good at creating beneficial relations with their students. Their ability to create effective learning environments that foster student achievement depends on the kind of relationship they build with their students.<ref>Baker, J. A., Terry, T., Bridger, R., & Winsor, A. (1997). Schools as caring communities: A relational approach to school reform. School Psychology Review, 26, 576-588.</ref><ref name="Bryant, Jennings 1980">Bryant, Jennings . 1980. Relationship between college teachers' use of humor in the classroom and students' evaluations of their teachers. Journal of educational psychology. 72, 4.</ref><ref>Fraser, B. J., & Fisher, D. L. (1982). Predicting students' outcomes from their perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment. American Educational Research Journal, 19, 498- 518.</ref><ref name="Hartmut, J. 1978">Hartmut, J. (1978). Supportive dimensions of teacher behavior in relationship to pupil emotional cognitive processes. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 25, 69-74.</ref> Useful teacher-to-student interactions are crucial in linking academic success with personal achievement.<ref name="Osborne, E. 1999">Osborne, E.;. Salzberger, I.; Wittenberg, G. W. 1999. The Emotional Experience of Learning and Teaching.  Karnac Books, London.</ref> Here, personal success is a student's internal goal of improving themselves, whereas academic success includes the goals they receive from their superior. A teacher must guide their student in aligning their personal goals with their academic goals. Students who receive this positive influence show stronger self-confidence and greater personal and academic success than those without these teacher interactions.<ref name="Hartmut, J. 1978"/><ref name="ReferenceA">Baker, J. A.Teacher-Student Interaction in Urban At-Risk Classrooms: Differential Behavior, Relationship Quality, and Student Satisfaction with School. The Elementary School Journal Volume 100, Number 1, 1999 by The University of Chicago.</ref><ref>Moos, R. H. (1979). Evaluating Educational Environments: Measures, procedures, findings, and policy implications. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.</ref>

Students are likely to build stronger relations with teachers who are friendly and supportive and will show more interest in courses taught by these teachers.<ref name="Osborne, E. 1999"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> Teachers that spend more time interacting and working directly with students are perceived as supportive and effective teachers. Effective teachers have been shown to invite student participation and decision making, allow humor into their classroom, and demonstrate a willingness to play.<ref name="Bryant, Jennings 1980"/>