Research On Vocational Teachers’Professionalization Based On PCK Theory

Teachers’professionalization has been a popular international education trend since late20th century. As part of education, vocational education is also affected by this thought. Currently, the issue of vocational teachers’professionalization becomes the focus of many scholars. Proposed by Shulman1980s, PCK has been regarded as a specific knowledge unique to the work of teaching. Accordingly, this thesis is to discuss the issue of vocational teachers’professionalization based on PCK theory.At first, this thesis analyzes the content of PCK theory in terms of its concept connotation, characteristics, and classification. Then, three typical development phases of vocational teachers’professionalization are combed in chronological order. Meanwhile, several major problems that bothers vocational teachers’professionalization are revealed. These problems are the fuzzy apprehension of vocational teachers’role;the weakening of vocational teachers’personal and professional qualities;the separation of teachers’professional knowledge structure.The main cause behind these problems can be attributed to the missing of vocational teachers’PCK. Therefore, a method to fulfill vocational teachers’ professionalization under the guidance of PCK theory is proposed, namely to construct vocational teachers’PCK. The construction of vocational teachers’PCK follows educational principle and occupational principle, and is influenced by four factors:conception, students,curriculum, environment. Vocational teachers’PCK consists of professional curriculum contents knowledge and professional pedagogical knowledge, and would undergo three dynamic development stages:initial formation, expansion, maturity. Accordingly, the relevant approaches conducive to vocational teachers’professionalization grounded on PCK are put forth: establishing a unique curriculum system in vocational teachers education, broadening the ways to learn PCK, improving the evaluation criteria of vocational teachers’professional level.