The professionalisation of teachers’ professional activities towards equalising educational opportunities for students

Abstract

The subject of the undertaken analyses was the strategies used by teachers as part of bringing them closer to pedagogical expertise. The research aims to show the ways of defining profession-alisation by the respondents. As a result, we were looking for the answers to how teachers perceive professionalism and what actions they take to achieve pedagogical expertise. The empirical material comprises 19 interviews with teachers implementing the International Baccalaureate Programme. The theoretical framework for us was symbolic interactionism. We used the procedures of grounded theory methodology. As a result, we reconstructed the strategies they use to approach pedagogical expertise. We managed to characterise the three main dimensions of striving for professionalism by international schoolteachers, i.e., achieving professionalism through relationships, staying up to date, and achieving formal gratifications.