TEACHER: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, FUNCTION,

QUALITIES, CHARACTERISTICS&COMPETENCIES
PRESENTED BY: BIYA MARY THOMSON

INTRODUCTION
A teacher is a person who provides education to pupils. A teacher is a person who helps
people to learn. A teacher often works in a classroom. There are many different kinds
of teachers. Some teachers teach young children in kindergarten or primary schools.
Others teach older children in middle, junior high and high schools. The role of a teacher is
often formal and on-going, carried out at school or other place of formal education. Teachers
may provide instruction in literacy and numeracy, craftsmanship or vocational training, the
arts, religion, civics, community roles, or life skills. The teacher’s place in society is of vital
importance. 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. Teachers face several occupational hazards in their
line of work, including occupational stress, which can negatively impact teachers' mental and
physical health, productivity, and students' performance. Stress can be caused by
organizational change, relationships with students, fellow teachers, and administrative
personnel, working environment, expectations to substitute, long hours with a heavy
workload, and inspections. Teachers are also at high risk for occupational burnout. In ancient
India, the most common form of education was gurukula based on the guru-shishya
tradition (teacher-disciple tradition) which involved the disciple and guru living in the same
(or a nearby) residence. These gurukulam was supported by public donations and the guru
would not accept any fees from the shishya. According to a number of sociological surveys,
university professors generally rank high in public estimation, comparable to medical
doctors, lawyers, owners of large business and industrial establishments, bankers, and
officials of national government.

DEFINITIONS

According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, ‘The teacher’s place in society is of vital importance.

He acts as the pivot for the transmission of intellectual traditions and technical skills from
generation to generation and helps to keep the lamp of civilization burning.’

According to Oxford Dictionary: Teacher is a person who teaches, especially in a school.

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According to Clark: ‘teacher is someone who can increase student knowledge, but it goes
beyond this in defining an effective teacher.’

ROLE OF TEACHER:

Role is the part played by somebody in a given social context.

The roles of teacher are:

1. Instructional role
2. Faculty role
3. Individual role

INSTRUCTIONAL ROLE

 Planning and organizing courses

 Creating and maintaining a desirable group climate
 Adapting teaching and preparing instructional materials
 Motivating and challenging students to pursue and to sustain learning activities.
 Supplying information needed or telling the source of information.
 Explaining, clarifying and interpreting.
 Demonstrating a process or exhibiting material.
 Serving as a resource person for group project or to a individual student.
 Supervising the student’s performance in the classroom.
 Evaluating all the planned learning and teaching activities and student’s outcome.

FACULTY ROLE

 Chairperson, secretary or member of one or more committee.

 Counsellor of students.
 Researchers
 Resource person to groups outside the institution
 A representative to professional nursing organizations and other agencies for his/her
faculty or for the institutions.
 As a public relations agent.

INDIVIDUAL ROLE

At the individual level teacher plays various roles-

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  As a controller
 As a facilitator
 As an assessor
 As a role model
 As a lecturer
 As a resource material creator
 As a planner
 As an information provider and evaluator
 As a resource material creator
 As a prompter
 As a curriculum planner

Role of a teacher in 21st century

The new role of the teacher in the 21 st century classroom requires changes in teacher’s
knowledge and classroom behaviours. The characteristics of the 21st century classroom will
be very different from those in classrooms of past because the focus is on producing student
who are highly productive, effective communications, inventive thinkers, and masters of
technology.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A TEACHER

 Analytic/synthetic approach:
 Discuss points of view other than his/her own
 Contrasts implications of various theories
 Discusses recent developments in the field
 Presents origins of ideas and concepts
 Gives references for more interesting and involved points
 Presents facts and concepts from a related field
 Emphasizes conceptual understandings
 Organization /Clarity:
 Explains clarity
 Well prepared
 Gives lectures that are easy to outline

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  Careful and precise in answering questions
 Summarizes major points
 States objectives for each class session
 Identifies what he/she considers important
 Instructor-group interactions:
 Encourages class discussion
 Invites students to share their knowledge and experiences.
 Clarifies thinking
 Invites criticism
 Knows if the class is understanding him/her or not
 Has interest and concern in the quality of his teaching
 Instructor-individual student interaction
 She has a genuine interest in students
 Friendly towards students
 Relates to student as individuals
 Recognizes and greets student out of class
 Valued for advice not directly related to the course
 Accessible to students out of class
 Respects students as persons
 Dynamism / Enthusiasm
 Dynamic and energetic person
 Has an interesting style of presentation
 Seems to enjoy teaching
 Enthusiastic about the subject
 Have self confidence
 Varies the speed and tone of his/her voice
 Has a sense of humour

Functions of Teacher

 Every teacher should strive with heart and soul to raise children up to highest
perfections of mankind.
 Ability to extend knowledge and experiential base beyond the classroom.
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  Ability to effectively balance and maintain discipline in the classroom.
 Every teacher should encourage quality education.
 Ability to provide variety and interesting knowledge and balance with predictable
positive structure.
 Personalization of knowledge through experimental connections and relations.
 Voluntary engagement of the student in the constructive process of education.
 Compassion, interest and involvement in the individual student.
 Objective, fair and need based handling of students as both individuals and members
of a learning team.
 Intellectual and active involvement in field knowledge.
 Efficient cognitive classroom- coursework organization.
 Flexibility, Articulation, integration, and developmental differentiation of knowledge
related to skills and experience.
 Willingness to voluntary giving control to class, and to not allow issues of control to
dictate management strategies for a class.
 Voluntary engagement of the student in the constructive process of education.
 The teacher creates an environment which helps the student to build his character and
develops a respect for the rights, privileges and opinions of others.
 Teacher motivates the students to study by adopting flexible, innovative, effective
student friendly teaching learning approach.
 Teacher helps in development, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum.
 The teacher is accountable for the evaluation and reporting of student’s performance.
 Teacher acts as liaison between institute and parents, hence she should develop
healthy relations with family and community.
 Teacher is responsible for maintaining discipline in the classroom.
 Teacher should be capable of adjusting to individual differences.
 Teachers need to work for good quality education to transform the students into self-
reliance and self-assured citizen of the world.

Qualities of a Teacher:

The teacher should possess the following qualities:

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T-Tactful, truthful, tolerant

E-Expertise in subject, Efficient

A-Adviser, Adaptable, Alert

C-Competent, Creative, Cultural

H-Helpful, Hardworking, Honest, Human relations, Humour

E-Enthusiastic, Emotionally Stable, Empathetic

R-Responsible, Resourceful, Rational

Qualities of Professional Teacher:

 Good motivator
 Role model
 Good guide and counsellor
 Effective organiser
 Good administrator
 Keen observer, supporter and listener
 Maintaining good human relations
 Good communicator
 Researcher
 Good evaluator
 Good leader
 Mastery over the subject
 Professionally well groomed
 Responsible and creative teacher
 Kind and patient
 Well-balanced personality
 Friendly in nature
 Effective utilization of resources
 Employs varied teaching approaches
 Clear exposition of subject matter

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Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Ministery of HRD Department of Education has listed
qualities of the teachers under the following headings:

 Personality characteristics of teacher

 Teacher’s character
 Teacher’s physical health
 Teacher’s social adjustment and social values
 Teacher’s professional Efficiency
 Teacher’s professional training
 Professional Ethics of Teachers

Personality characteristics of teacher

 Self-confidence and self-respect

 Excellent appearance
 Healthy and energetic
 Good intellect
 High character
 Sense of humour
 Optimistic
 Democratic
 Fair and just
 Sympathy and Empathy
 Punctuality
 Enthusiasm
 Industriousness
 Sociability

Teacher’s Character

If the teacher becomes an embodiment of right conduct in thought, word and deed, the
students by their association will learn virtue and develop manly qualities. They can be
humanised and can live and act like normal human beings. They can become thoughtful,
concerned and courageous.

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Teacher’s Physical Health

Teacher should have a sound physical health, physical energy, vitality and he should be free
from physical defects. This will make him alert, cheerful, happy, dynamic and enthusiastic.
He can maintain emotional stability.

Teacher’s Social Adjustment

Sociability is another important quality of a teacher. He should know how to adjust himself to
social surroundings in which he lives. He should not be quiet, retreating and introverted. He
should be free from worry, anxiety and thinking and feeling about himself.

Teacher’s Professional Efficiency

He should have a genuine love for his job responsibilities. For his professional efficiency, he
should have knowledge of psychology, educational philosophy, aims, contents, methods and
materials of instruction, skill and interest in teaching. He must have a knowledge of current
affairs at National and globe level.

Teacher’s Academic Achievements

A teacher should possess knowledge of the fundamentals of the subjects he teaches. He

should have a sound academic and cultural background.

Teacher’s Professional Training

The teacher must have the required professional training; without which he will commit
serious pedagogical blunders.

Professional Ethics of Teachers

Our cultural heritage proves that true teachers are those who consider their job as honourable.
An ideal teacher should not work with financial motives, but with a sense of education and
for the cause of education.

Competencies of Teacher

Each teacher should acquire and maintain certain qualities which are characteristics of
mature personality:

 Good physical health and appropriate health habits.

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  Social tact and confidence.
 Ability to work cooperatively with other persons.

Each teacher should develop a philosophy of life and education:

 A code of moral values for directing and appraising personal and social behaviour.
 An understanding of the goals, principles and practices involved in democratic
education.
 An awareness of the relationship between teaching and learning.

Each teacher should possess knowledge of the nature of human growth and
development:

 An understanding of the nature and uniqueness of human behaviour.

 Recognition of the nature and uniqueness of human behaviour.
 An understanding of the personal and social problems and tensions experienced by
children and youth.
 Recognise that mental health is a learned way of personal interaction with other
persons.

Each teacher should possess an appreciation and understanding of the meaning and
practice of democracy in the classroom:

 Readiness to discover and to respect the worth of each individual.

 Provide leadership and opportunity for cooperative planning, executing and
evaluating of curriculum activities.
 Encourages members of the classroom society to formulate desirable citizenship
objectives and duties.
 Assist students in learning responsibility through participation.
 Provide leadership and practice in individual and group decision making.

Each teacher should have an understanding of the objectives and function of each social
institution as the family, the religious institutions, government agencies and the school:

 Recognition of cultural background and the evolutionary process.

 An appreciation of the affect of the institutions on the personal development and
social living of young people.

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  Recognition that the value of these institutions is based on their contribution to the
improvement of the general welfare of people.

Each teacher should have knowledge of the ideas, leader, and events that produced the
heritage of the nation:

 An appreciation of the ideals and ideas that motivated historic actions.

 An understanding of leaders who gave direction to the human experiment in social,
political, economic and educational democracy.
 Respect and support for freedom of worship, speech, assembly, franchise and
education.

Each teacher should have acquired academic competency in identifying and

understanding the significant issues and trends in contemporary national society:

 Recognition of the economic, political and sociological issues and trends.

 Understanding of the historical foundations of social issues and trends.
 Recognition of the impact of industrial change on personnel and social living.
 An understanding of the educational requirements for dealing intelligently with such
contemporary issues as housing, management, labour, local autonomy, and federal
authority in government.

Each teacher should have knowledge of the life, culture and government of people in
various countries:

 Understanding of the geographical features and their impact on personal and

industrial life.
 Recognition of the similarities in the basic human needs of the people of the world.
 An awareness of the impact of the education, customs, religion, economics and
politics in different countries.
 An appreciation of the effect of racial and ethnic factors on the personal and social
development and on their mental hygiene.

Each teacher should possess an understanding of the increasing independence among

the nations of the world:

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  Recognition of the events, inventions and needs which accelerated interdependence
among nations.
 Awareness of the contribution that education can make to improve world
understanding.

Each teacher should have an understanding and appreciation in the humanities:

 Appreciation of music and its contribution to creative living and mental health.
 Appreciation of literature and its values in personal and community living.
 Appreciation of literature and its value in personal behaviour and in mental hygiene.

Each teacher should have an understanding of the moral values and ethics of the
teaching profession:

 Understanding of the history and progress of the profession.

 Acceptance of a code of professional ethics in all relationships with teachers,
administrator, and layman.
 Understanding of the objectives and services of the local, state and national education
organizations.
 Readiness to participate as a contributing member in educational organizations.
 Acceptance of responsibility to share in maintaining and improving standards of
teacher’s certification and teacher employment.
 Acceptance of responsibility to work for improvement in conditions affecting the
mental health of all school personnel.

Each teacher should possess abilities in effective use of expressive and receptive
communication:

 Recognition of the contribution of critical reading for mental health.

 Understanding of the psychological, emotional, social nature and consequences of
expressive communication.
 Recognition of difference between languages as a system of symbol and as a way
of thought and notion.
 Readiness to listen to one’s own languages to comprehend its probable
interpretation and effect on other persons.

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 CONCLUSION

A teacher is a person who helps people to learn. A teacher often works in a classroom. The
characteristics of the 21st century classroom will be very different from those in classrooms of
past because the focus is on producing student who are highly productive. The role of a
teacher is often formal and on-going, carried out at school or other place of formal education.
Research shows that student motivation and attitudes towards school are closely linked to
student-teacher relationships.

REFERENCES

 Sodhi J.K. comprehensive textbook of nursing education. New Delhi (2017). Jaypee
publications
 Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/teaching/Fringe-benefits-and-other-
advantages on 8th feb.2020
 Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacher on 8th feb.2020
 Hall, E., Chai, W., & Albrecht, J. A. (2016). A Qualitative Phenomenological
Exploration of Teachers' Experience With Nutrition Education. American journal of
health education, 47(3), 136–148. doi:10.1080/19325037.2016.1157532

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