are contributing to your sessions.
It might be that you are required to look after relevant people who visit your organisation. If so, you will need to inform reception of their arrival time, perhaps organise parking and refreshments, and be accessible as soon as they arrive. They may need to wear a visitor’s badge and sign in and out of the building.
Extension activity
Consider the term professionalism: what do you think it means in relation to your role as a teacher or a trainer? Think about it first, and then research a few definitions. Discuss your response with someone else and see if you agree or disagree. What situations do you think could occur which might lead to a teacher becoming unprofessional? How could you overcome them?
Professional boundaries
There will be professional boundaries within which to work and it’s important not to overstep these, for example, by becoming too friendly and personal with your learners. Boundaries are about knowing where your role as a teacher stops. You should be able to work within the limits of that role, but know that it’s okay to ask for help when necessary. Don’t try to take on too much, or carry out something which is part of someone else’s role. If you are ever in any doubt about the boundaries of your role, or how you should act in certain situations, you should ask for advice.
You should be able to maintain appropriate standards of conduct and fulfil your role and responsibilities in a professional way. This will involve not only how you act with your learners, but also with your colleagues, support staff and other staff, for example, external visitors. Having boundaries will help you remain professional in your role.
Example
Navinda had been teaching a group of 16 learners once a week for six weeks. She occasionally emailed them between sessions to inform them of room changes. Two of her learners sent her an email inviting her to join their social networking site. She politely refused to ensure that she remained professional and within the boundaries of her role as their teacher.
You might be informed by your organisation what the boundaries of your role will be, or you might not. Defining the boundaries will help ensure that you can fulfil your duties as a teacher, as well as any other roles you might have. For example, you could be classed as a personal tutor, as well as a teacher. The role of a personal tutor is not to become personal with each learner. It is to be their point of contact for help, guidance and support for the duration they are with your organisation. You can be friendly if necessary, but do be careful not to get overfriendly or too personal with a learner. You need to know what is appropriate and what is not, what is part of your role, and what is not.
Example
One of Shammi’s learners confided in her that he could not afford to purchase the required resources for the picture framing course, and he may have to leave as a result. Shammi felt she wanted to lend him the money, but knew this was outside of her role. Instead, she advised him how he could apply for a grant and guided him to the right person for this. She did not let his peer group know about his financial situation. As a result, he obtained a grant, purchased the resources and was able to complete the course. He was not made to feel embarrassed in front of his peers, and the relationship between him and Shammi remained professional.
Your role might involve you interviewing learners and deciding whether they can attend the course or not. You might have difficult decisions to make about this; however, you should always be able to get the support of other staff at your organisation. If you make a decision not to accept a learner, you will need to justify your reasons. There might be an Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) department in your organisation who will be able to support you.
If you are a new teacher, you might have been allocated a mentor, someone to help and support you as necessary, and you will find it helpful to keep in touch with them and ask for advice when needed.
You might feel that you could do something which another member of staff would normally do, for example, photocopy some handouts instead of disturbing the reprographics staff. However, while you might feel you are doing them a favour, there are probably procedures to follow which will be there to help rather than hinder you in your role.
Table 1.3 Example boundaries
Example
Celia was due to teach a First Aid session and arrived early to set up the room. She found the computer worked but the interactive whiteboard didn’t. She needed to show a video clip which was only available online. Instead of calling the technician, she moved the equipment herself to check the cables. In doing so, she accidentally broke the internet cable. Had she not overstepped the boundary of her role and liaised with the relevant person, she would not have caused any further problems.
There are also professional aspects which you are bound by which might hinder or challenge your role. These include policies and procedures, the amount of administrative work you are expected to complete, targets and league tables, or a lack of funding or resources. These aspects can often be interpreted as the negative aspects of your role. You might feel they will put pressure on you which could impact upon the teaching and learning process. However, they are something which you will need to be prepared to deal with, and not let it influence the time that you are with your learners. Other staff, and most of all your learners, will not want to know about things like a lack of funding, what you did at the weekend or what you watched on television last night. Save these conversations for more appropriate people and times. Table 1.3 (on page 48) lists some of the boundaries you may encounter (in alphabetical order) in relation to the teaching, learning and assessment cycle.
Activity
Look at Table 1.3 and choose one boundary from each section. How do you feel you could overcome or work within the boundaries you have chosen?
Being professional
When you are with your learners you should always be professional. This can be achieved by the way you act and react, how you remain in control, how fair and ethical you are, and by not demonstrating any favouritism towards particular learners.
Example
Elija had a learner, Joel, who was often absent from certain sessions of a full-time course. Each time this happened, Elija would telephone him and leave a message for him to get in touch. If Joel didn’t respond, Elija would call again and leave another message. Joel did not respond as he felt he was being harassed. He then gained the confidence to say to Elija that he was having regular hospital appointments which could not be changed, but that he did want to continue with the course. Elija was able to discuss a plan of action regarding what would be missed in order for him to catch up.
In this example it might be sensible to make a telephone call to a learner who has been absent but making repeated calls would be inappropriate.
If you don’t know the boundaries or limits of your role, mistakes can happen: some might be minor, but others could be very serious. Sometimes, it could be due to your not knowing what the limits are, other times it could be a lack of training which has led to ignorance of what is right and wrong. If you give your personal telephone number to learners it could be seen as encouraging informal contact, and you may get calls or texts which are not appropriate. You might not want to take your break with your learners or join their
