Trans-cultural Respect Literacy for Teachers: A Panacea for Teacher Shortage
The teacher shortage is a global issue, Australia’s Department of Education has described the teacher shortage as "unprecedented" and the "single biggest issue" faced by all school sectors.
As countries across the globe seek a solution, it might be valuable to talk about the source of the problem rather than the issue. Stakeholders have identified key causes as teacher workload, lack of respect and status, plus recruitment policy.
Given the projected massive teacher shortage in schools, it becomes necessary to talk about another major reason for the shortage, a lack of respect for teachers. Here we examine how the lack of respect for teachers can be addressed through trans-cultural literacy.
Is the way teachers are represented in the media and in government reports responsible for the lack of respect for the average Australian teacher?
A recent study at Monash education suggested that 70% of Australian teachers do not feel respected by the wider society. Findings showed that 'the way we talk about teachers directly impacts how they feel about their work.'
While we all agree that teachers are the backbone of the community, there is a need to prioritise teacher respect through socio-cultural means.
For Longmuir and her colleagues: ‘we must appreciate our teachers, advocate on their behalf, and enable their voices to be heard at the policymaking table.’
UNICEF declares, “teachers are entitled to respect, remuneration and appropriate training and support if they must fulfill their obligations to young minds”.
Some Government initiatives are already in place as part of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to build respect and reputation of the profession and tackle workload issues.
But a trans-cultural approach can also help. How can this be achieved? Maybe we should look at other cultures that have more respect for teachers.
China and Russia are two countries that respect their teachers highly. In both countries, the teaching profession is honoured. They treat teachers as they do doctors.
Perhaps a look at why teachers are valued in these cultures will help us understand more.
Teachers Shape Society and the Future
China and Russia value the moral authority of teachers. The two cultures see teachers as creators of character in children.
As simple as this may sound, it's a deep-rooted educational cum cultural philosophy of the people in these nations.
Both nations view teachers as “the engineers of the human soul”, the metaphor indicates the sociocultural fixation of the notion.
However, in Chinese educational philosophy, the connotation of soul is not confined within the duality of soul and mind. But it is the fusion of “soul, example and deeds” in terms of role-modelling and building the students into highly moral citizens. The metaphor is rather a benign apolitical phrase that is embraced and promoted by the government to uphold and cultivate traditionally practised value-based respect for teachers.
Similarly, in Russian culture, the metaphor “engineer of the soul” is similarly associated with the ability to shape someone’s character and consciousness, the principle of ‘being’.
In China, teachers are expected to rigorously and continuously develop their knowledge as a prerequisite to becoming the ‘engineers of the human soul'. They educate the masses and engineer the nation’s future.
Teachers should also engage in self-education and self-transformation so that they can shape their student’s’ character and hence the nation.
Jin Qu, a PhD candidate from China, at Monash Education, noted that teachers' welfare is enhanced yearly in the country.
Is this the reason graduates of high calibre ("talent, morality and dedication") regularly join their teaching workforce?
Chinese proverb says, “a teacher for a day, a mentor for life”.
Olga Mihli, a former teacher in Russia, PhD candidate at USyd, says that teaching is broadly revered in the country. Teachers are responsible for holistic education. They are made to nurture their students with emotional and social development. She affirms, Russian people embody the cultural and spiritual values learned from their teacher.
This also means that teachers must be well-educated in their subject area if their knowledge is to be respected.
Interestingly, teachers are treated as second parents in Russia because “teachers spend no less time with our children than us”, Olga says.
Celebrations and Ceremonies for Teachers
As a way of promoting the profession, Teachers’ Day (Jiàoshijié) is celebrated annually on the 10th of Sept in China as a carnival. This event signifies cultural respect for the teaching profession. The widely observed holiday has existed since the Middle Ages but rituals have evolved since then.
A day set is aside to acknowledge and appreciate teachers’ contributions as a nation. Apart from traditional rituals, teachers are often honoured with culturally relevant gifts from administrators, parents, and students.
The fanfare includes visits to the schools by the alums. Even the president goes to his school with gifts for his favourite teacher/s. In many schools, if the teachers want, they can take the day or some hours off.
The practice is similar in Russia. Teachers’ Day has been traditionally celebrated there too. The holiday is now observed on the 5th of Oct, World Teachers' Day.
The day before the event, teachers are congratulated often with flowers and special programs like 'congratulatory wall newspaper'.
Teachers are also appreciated through written poetic verses and good wishes.
‘Bow to you for a good heart
And your amazing work.
For what you lead from childhood
On an adult and the right way.’
Many teachers treasure the post cards with poems and good wishes.
Another interesting practice here is while teachers rest on ‘Self-Government Day’, High school students teach primary school students, monitor behaviours, prepare lessons, and evaluate the teachers' work.
The event is usually celebrated with awards and diplomas for deserving teachers and celebrations across public places in the country.
It is time other countries emulated these cultural practices and values and adopt appreciation and respect for teachers. Multicultural countries can make use of their multicultural resources for this too. We have seen gifts like a map of the globe for the geography teacher and artworks.
Teachers in Russia and China are granted special titles by local, regional, and federal governments such as 'Honoured Teacher of the Russian Federation' and 'People’s Teacher of the Russian Federation'.
This recognition is not exclusive to special days in China and Russia, teachers are respected daily through individual and/or national recognitions.
We must also mention social status and remuneration. Also, admiration is manifested in the media. All of it promotes the status and the job of the teacher and their pay is amongst the highest of all jobs.
This age-old practice of respecting teachers by these two countries is food for thought for any society that desires to improve the educational sector through respect for teachers and until it is embedded in our sociocultural values, the teacher shortage may linger.
Long standing traditional and socio-cultural customs promote respect for teachers in Russia and China and we need to adopt some of that here. Let respect for our teachers be embedded in our socio-cultural values unanimously.
Nashid Nigar has taught Master of TESOL and Master of Education programs at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. She is a PhD candidate at Monash University, investigating immigrant teachers’ professional identity in Australia. Amongst her study interests are teacher professional identity and theories, career development, academic literacy, curriculum development, English language teaching and learning in intercultural contexts.
Olga Mhilli has been working as a teacher for over twenty years both in Australia and overseas. She holds a Masters of Linguistics from Lomonosov Moscow State University, a Graduate Diploma of Education (English and ESL - Secondary) from Australian Catholic University and a Master’s of TESOL from the University of Sydney. She is also a PhD candidate at the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney.
Jin Qu is a PhD candidate at the Education Faculty of Monash University, investigating lifelong learning and citizenship education of Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia. Jin Qu holds a Master of TESOL from Monash University, and Bachelor of Economics from Peking University.
Image by Jan Krukau