“Successful countries treat their teachers as nation builders” according to Andrew Hargreaves and Michael Fullan.
Do you feel like a nation-builder?
A lot of research suggests that when teachers feel that their work is really making a difference, the quality of their teaching and contribution to their schools increases.
Hargreaves and Fullan talk about “Professional Capital”, which they say consists of “technical knowledge, high levels of education, strong practice within schools, and continuous improvement over time that is undertaken collaboratively”. Teachers with a great deal of Professional Capital are nation-builders. We invest our capital in our schools and our students, building the future of the nation.
Leadership, which can be seen as the opportunity to make decisions, is an important part of growing one’s professional capital. Our schools invest in us, entrusting aspects of school life to us, so challenging us to grow and build our professionalism.
Hargreaves, A. & Fullan, M. (2013). The Power of Professional Capital. JSD June 2013: Vol. 34 No. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2018, from http://www.michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/JSD-Power-of-Professional-Capital.pdf