Teaching as a Profession

Career advancement for teachers is one of the central concerns of reformers. At tracting and retaining the best qualified teachers will require, however, the de velopment of systems that properly re ward and empower classroom teachers. Mertens and Yarger examine the issues associated with career ladder oppor tunities and question a selected set of assumptions that undergird profes sional enhancement schemes. The authors conclude with a discussion of how teacher empowerment and involve ment are essential ingredients to strengthening teaching as a profession.