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CAREER TALK DELIVERED AT THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

HALL, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA [AUGUST 31, 2015]
BY
CHIEDU ESEADI, Mcasson, ACPM.

TEACHING AS A CAREER
If you wish to make a difference and transform our Nation Become a Teacher!!!

Introduction
Globally, teaching as a career is well regarded. Teaching brings out the creativity in a person. It
can offer a work/life balance that is suitable for many individual. Ordinarily, a person who
provides educational training to students is known as a teacher. Because most people hold
different perceptions and beliefs (both right and wrong) about teaching, it is important to clarify
us on how one could become a teacher, what teachers do, where teachers work, and what kinds
of teachers there are, and so on. This could provide the rationale for one to consider teaching as a
wise career choice.
How to become a teacher
A person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain professional qualification from a
College of Education or University. Examples of such professional qualification may include
NCE, B.Ed, B.Sc.(Ed.), and B.A(Ed.). Teachers, like other professionals, may have to continue
their education after they qualify, a process known as continuing professional development
(CDP). For teachers with NCE qualification, they can enroll to earn a Bachelor degree for
professional development.

Teachers could also further their studies to obtain postgraduate

qualifications like PGDE, M.Ed, M.Sc(Ed), M.A(Ed), and Ph.D. The postgraduate qualification
invariably brings about promotion and salary increment. Many teachers call their work a labour
of love. Many teachers look forward to a long career of educating students and possibly moving
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up into administrative positions, where they can have greater impact on curriculum development
and school system planning.
What teachers do
Teachers play a key role in delivery of quality education to students including:
1. Planning, preparing and delivering effective teaching and learning programmes for every
student in allocated classes and/or groups.
2. Establishing and maintaining a supportive school environment.
3. Contributing to the development and implementation of the school objectives and school
planning.
4. Assisting with the management and further development of school personnel, financial,
information and technology assets and facilities to ensure their optimum use.
Teachers work with students of different ages and abilities; prepare lessons and teaching
materials; assess student progress; liaise with non-teaching staff such as teacher aides and
therapists; engage with parents and guardians; work with colleagues and in professional teams;
involved in extra curricula activities, school excursions and performances and sporting events;
and continue their professional development.
Teachers make students believe in themselves and press on in the face of adversity so that
they will know how limitless their potential is. As teachers see their students mature into unique,
talented individuals, they make sure that the future generation learns all that they can today, so
that they may become all that they can be tomorrow. Therefore, teachers make schools the right
place where students can discover their talents, and aspire to greater heights.
Where teachers work
Teachers work in many different types of schools and educational settings to support learners
with a diverse range of ages, cultures, learning needs and interests. The settings include but are
not limited to:
Nursery schools/Kindergarten
Primary schools
Secondary schools
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Post-secondary schools/Tertiary Institutions (e.g. Innovation Enterprise Institutions, Colleg

es of Education, Monotechnics/Polytechnics, Universities).

Kinds of teachers
There are many different kinds of teachers. If one have an interest in a specific subject area, or
enjoy working with a particular group, one may be suited to a specialist area of teaching as can
be seen from the Table below.
S/N

If you like

You could become

Spending time with young children

Early childhood teacher

Managing and leading others

Education administrator/director

Mathematics, reasoning or problem solving

Mathematics teacher

Physics, chemistry, biology, agric. or marine Science teacher

science

5
6

Woodwork, metalwork or graphic design

Helping people who have special needs

Industrial technology/design teacher

Special education teacher

Dance, drama, music or visual arts

Teacher of creative arts subjects

Literature, language, communications, media or English teacher

writing
Languages

Igbo/Yoruba/Hausa/French/Greek/
Latin teacher

10

Sport, physical activity and promoting a healthy Health

11

lifestyle
Politics and issues related to good governance

teacher
Government teacher

12

Entrepreneurial activities, business/trading

Commerce/Business Stud./Economics

Keeping records of events and storytelling

Teacher
History teacher

13

and

Physical

Education

Qualities of a teacher
There are many personal qualities and skills that make someone a good teacher. These
include:

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Being good at explaining things to others. A good teacher should able to clearly explain
concepts in a way their students will understand;
Enjoy working with a wide range of people;
Having a strong knowledge in particular subject areas. Teachers should be extremely
knowledgeable in their area of expertise so they can answer questions from students and
create excellent curriculums;
Being a good time manager;
Being able to work in a team as well as using your own initiative;
Being patient, resilient, and understanding;
Being fair-minded;
Enthusiasm;
Coping well with change;
Enjoying a challenge.
To be successful in their field, teachers also need to:
Be organized and have excellent attention to detail;
Be able to think on their feet, give thorough and intelligent answers to questions from
students and have contingency plans for classroom activities or lessons that dont go as
planned;
Have strong writing and communication skills, which come into play when developing
exams and homework, teaching courses, and speaking with parents, other teachers and
school system members;
Be computer literate.

Teachers Salary
Teachers can make different salaries depending upon where they work (whether they work in a
private or public school), what subject they teach, what kind of experience they have, and the
level they teach at. However, some of the greatest variables in salary are the degree they hold,
the State in which a teacher works and even the city. Although, a beginning teachers annual
salary could compare well with most graduate professions.

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Potential Hazards/Risks
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. A recent study found that teachers experienced double the rate of anxiety, depression,
and stress than average workers (Naghieh, et al., 2015). This means that teachers have several
sources of stress in the workplace that may also include increased class sizes, student
performance objectives, lack of control over work hours and methods, lack of student
motivation, difficulty working with parents, lack of professional recognition, and inadequate
salary. Although everyone reacts to stress differently, too much stress can affect teachers mood,
behaviour and physical health. The Mayo Clinic says that stress can lead to headaches, sleep
problems, fatigue, muscle tension, upset stomach, chest pain and muscle pain. For them, stress
can also cause anxiety, irritability, depression, anger, drug or alcohol abuse, social withdrawal,
and changes in appetite.
Teachers spend their days with students, colleagues and parents, making them susceptible
to bacterial and viral infections. In fact, a study led by investigators from the MGEN Foundation
for Public Health revealed that teachers are more susceptible to certain types of infections than
other workers. During the study, researchers surveyed 1,817 non-teachers and 3,679 teachers
ranging in age from 20 to 60. After adjusting for variables, they found that male and female
teachers had a higher lifetime prevalence of laryngitis and rhinopharyngitis, two infections of the
upper respiratory tract. They also found that female teachers had a higher lifetime prevalence of
bronchitis. The results of this study appeared in the April 21, 2006, online edition of BMC
Public Health. There is also no doubt that when teachers stays in a classroom all day with about
30 or more students any number of whom might have an illness he stand a chance of catching
the latest virus as well. Students bad behaviour is also linked to increased illness in teachers,
according to a 2012 study published in the "Journal of School Psychology."
The American Psychological Association has confirmed that teachers are threatened with
injury each year. These threats are more prevalent in urban high schools, and female teachers
receive more than twice as many threats as male teachers. In 2007, the Centers for Disease

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Control and Prevention surveyed students as part of the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance.
Nearly 6 percent of the students surveyed admitted carrying a gun, knife or club on school
property during the 30 days preceding the survey. This increases the risk for physical violence
against teachers.
Teachers spend much of their time standing, and may have to bend, stretch and lift to use
educational aids and equipment such as blackboards and projectors. This puts them at risk for
varicose veins and for injuries, including sprains, strains, pulled muscles, and back injuries. For
teachers who spend a lot of time using a computer, the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome
is also a concern.
Even the most enthusiastic teacher can begin to feel worn down by her dealings with
unhelpful parents, belligerent students and lackluster school administrators -- who are often
themselves burnt out. When added, pressure to increase standardized test scores, poor school
resources and an increasing number of non-teaching-related tasks results to burnout.
Violence against students gets considerable press, but what often goes unreported is the
everyday violence that teachers face. School teachers are prone to physical assault at school,
according to the National Education Association (NEA). Verbal abuse, while not lifethreatening, is also widespread and contributes to teacher stress, says the NEA.
False accusations of wrongdoing have been nightmares for some unfortunate teachers. It
is probably the last thing a teacher would ever imagine would happen to them, but even innocent
teachers have ended up on the evening news or police cell because of a childs accusation.

Hazards/Risk Reduction Strategies

There are several ways to mitigate the occupational hazards of teaching. Organizational
interventions, like changing teachers schedules, providing support networks and mentoring,
changing the work environment, and offering promotions and bonuses, may be effective in
helping to reduce occupational stress among teachers. Individual-level interventions, including
stress management training and counselling, are also used to relieve occupational stress among
teachers. While there is no sure way to prevent burnout, good self-care plays a role. A teacher
should never feel guilty about springing for a pedicure at the end of a long teaching day.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle to lower the risk of succumbing to bacteria that enters the classroom.
While there is never a guarantee that one won't be a victim of a false accusation, be savvy and

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document problematic interactions with students and avoid being alone in a room or vehicle with
a student. Decrease the chances of becoming a victim of school violence by learning and putting
into practice de-escalation techniques. It is also a good idea to document any threat a student
makes, no matter how subtle.
Conclusion
Selecting a career path is challenging and exciting because there are so many things to consider.
Teaching is a unique and rewarding career choice. It is a career that provides challenges,
excitement, personal reward and a chance to encourage and support others to achieve their goals.
Given that every child needs an education and every adult is promised the opportunity to pursue
higher education, teachers are in constant demand. But some teaching jobs are more in demand
than others. For example, teachers are often needed in urban or underserved areas, and some
parts of the country will see higher demand due to a booming population.
Although all teachers have the same basic work functions, their jobs may vary
significantly depending on their classroom placement and specialty. Teachers responsibilities
include developing classroom curricula, teaching courses, conducting exams and helping guide
students toward academic success. The after-school lesson preparation and marking may seem
stressful, but the working hours can be family-friendly. In fact, good teachers know that by
listening to and working with colleagues, parents, other professionals and community members
that they can inspire students and improve their learning.
Those who earn higher degree have the opportunity for higher pay, greater job flexibility
and easier advancement into administrative positions. If one chooses this career path, they could
also have additional opportunities to exercise their talents. One can use their leadership skills to
mentor other teachers, lead curriculum design teams or pursue school leadership options.
Teachers can also use their leadership talents to advocate for others through involvement in the
teachers union, professional associations and community organizations. If these options are not
enough, one should know that the skills of a teacher are transferable to other professions.
Government and business-and-industry employers like to hire teachers because of their abilities
to work and communicate effectively with people. This added to their ability to plan, organize
and inspire, makes teachers very attractive as employees. Although schools do not like to lose
great teachers from the classroom; it is always nice to know that when one chooses a particular
career path such as teaching, they will have a wide range of options for advancement.

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Conflict of Interest: This paper was prepared to serve only as a guide for the career day and
may not have met certain criteria for crediting some of the contents to the presenter. Thus, doing
a Google search for the original materials is recommended.

Some of the Used Resources

[1] How to become a teacher: Careers in teaching. Retrieved from http://www.learnhowtobecom
e.org/teacher/.(accessed August 30, 2015).
[2] http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/qualities-good-teacher.html.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacher
[4] Ministry of Education, Singapore (2015). Teaching as a Career What you need to know?
Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/careers/teach/
[5] Naghieh, A., Montgomery, P., & Bonell, C.P., Thompson, M., & Aber, J. L. (2015).
Organisational interventions for improving wellbeing and reducing work-related stress in
teachers. The Cochrane
Database
of
Systematic
Reviews,
4:
CD010306.
doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010306.pub2.
[6] Teaching as a career. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/qual
itiesgoodteacher.html. (accessed August 30, 2015).

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