Teaching as a Clinical Profession: Adapting the Medical Model

Abstract

One influential way of thinking about teaching is to conceive of it as a clinical profession, similar in important ways to medicine. However, fundamental differences between doctors’ and teachers’ practice limit the usefulness of the medical model. How can we adapt our understandings of clinical practice in light of the unique aspects of teaching and the context of teachers’ work? In this article, we explore the requirements of the central clinical activities of diagnosis, treatment, and inference in teaching; how teachers tend to perform them; and how their performance is shaped by the context of teachers’ work. We elaborate each clinical activity’s characteristics and explore the unique features and limitations of teaching in relation to it. To account for teaching’s unique qualities, we propose adapting the clinical acts of diagnosis, treatment, and inference to include, respectively, prioritization and noticing, disciplined improvisation, and room to maneuver.

Reframing High-Quality Mentoring: Between Teacher Mentoring and Visions of Teaching as a Profession

“…Labaree (1992aLabaree ( , 1992b suggested it may promote teacher educators' professional status while demoting teachers' status. Others claimed that working processes inherent to occupations acknowledged as true professions only partially fit the uniqueness of teaching (Becher & Lefstein, 2021;Philpott, 2017). Elsewhere, I claimed that its perpetual addressing of the theory-practice gap has led the professionalization movement to overlook a third important aspect-the teacher's self (Carmi & Tamir, 2022).…”

“…This study tries to go beyond the mundane experience of teacher mentoring, and its main contribution comes from uncovering the often-overlooked interrelationship between mentoring and visions of teacher professionalism. Despite the various critiques (Becher & Lefstein, 2021;Carmi & Tamir, 2022;Labaree, 1992aLabaree, , 1992bPhilpott, 2017), the professionalization movement remains dominant, and the educational literature continues to discuss whether teachers are craftspeople or professionals (Townsend, 2011) and to look for ways to professionalize teaching. Its advocates point to the complex knowledge that underpins teachers' practice and decision-making (Ball et al, 2008;Shulman, 1987), mirroring classical postulations regarding the role of knowledge in professional work (Freidson, 2001;Greenwood, 1957).…”

“…On the contrary, these bipolar continuums clearly distinguish between their more and less preferable ends and frame a discussion that prioritizes those on the right side of Figure 1. However, by aiming at favorable trajectories, this framing limits the ability to recognize the benefits of varied MSs and mirrors idealized conceptions of professionalism within the educational literature (Becher & Lefstein, 2021).…”

Reinforcing and innovating teacher professionalism

“…For instance, it is crucial that developments in CPL be co-created with teachers, responding to their needs and respecting their collective wishes (Parding and Abrahamsson, 2010 [85]). Similarly, Bautista, Toh and Wong (2018 [144]) note that the "one-size-fits-all" approach to CPL is ineffective. Theymention that "for [professional development] to be meaningful and transformative, it needs to be designed in response to teachers' own motivations, needs, and preferences" and that "teachers' perspectives should be always taken as one of the main starting points" (p. 197 [144]).…”

“…Similarly, Bautista, Toh and Wong (2018 [144]) note that the "one-size-fits-all" approach to CPL is ineffective. Theymention that "for [professional development] to be meaningful and transformative, it needs to be designed in response to teachers' own motivations, needs, and preferences" and that "teachers' perspectives should be always taken as one of the main starting points" (p. 197 [144]). Yan and Saguin (2021 [145]) concur, emphasising the importance of catering to the needs of teachers.…”