The Professional Development of Further Education Teachers - Essay Example

This study examines the role and professionalism of FE teachers in the knowledge economy, the development of the FENTO standards and their implication for FE teachers, as well as ways and means to support FE teachers to fulfill the complex roles they now have to play. Capitalism is viewed by experts as “a form or method of economic change…[which can]….never be stationary.”(Schumpeter, 1952:82) but is constantly changing. The latest brand of change is the concept of the knowledge economy.

Increasingly, the assets that are being valued in a globalized economy are practical skills, knowledge, and creativity of individuals, unlike assets such as machinery, land and other natural resources which were the major drivers of the economy earlier. (Rikowski, 2000:158). This Chapter will provide an overview of the knowledge economy in order to highlight the role of further education teachers in equipping individuals to utilize the information available in society to generate knowledge. The assets that are most valued in the knowledge economy are skills and abilities that people possess; hence further education teachers play a vital role in ensuring that students develop those skills and acquire the kind of knowledge which will be useful in the competitive global economy.

Potter argues that in the modern day economy, the production itself does not ensure that a firm enjoys a competitive advantage, rather it is intellectual capital or the knowledge base of a firm which ensures that this objective is attained. (Potter, 1999). In today’s global marketplace, creativity and innovation have assumed a great deal of importance and it is important for a Company to have a fresh and novel strategy if it is to succeed in the marketplace. The development of the knowledge economy has redefined the concept of learning.

The mere transmission of purely academic knowledge or learning a specific set of skills for lifelong employment in one field is no longer a practical approach which satisfies the requirements of the knowledge economy. Employers are increasingly looking for employees who possess general skills and the knowledge to make an effective economic contribution, while also possessing the ability to migrate from one work-related context to another to adapt to and be flexible to the challenges of the knowledge economy.