The Knowledge Base On The Professional Development Of Teachers

The teacher professional development is the focus of research in current education fields. Knowledge, as the base of the professional development of teachers and the precondition of the existence of teaching profession, is a problem worth researching. This essay is focused on discussing what kinds of knowledge is needed in the teacher professional development , what functions they have and discussing how to improve the teachers level from knowledge aspect. This essay is divided in three parts.First, it discusses the concept o f knowledge from the psychological and philosophical angles, and explains the conceptions of profession, professionalization and professional development. It also makes clear that knowledge is the base of the formation of profession, and has an important effect on distinguishing profession and promoting individual development. It also makes a deep analysis on the history of professional development of teachers, the current situation of teacher professional development in our country and the important function of knowledge in the professional development of teachers.Second, It makes a conclusion by analyzing theories and the education history of teachers that the teacher professional development needs both theory and practice. These two kinds of knowledge have different meanings and characters. Their functions are different, but they develop a dependent relationship which is influencing each other.Lastly, at different stages of the professional development of teachers, there are different images of teachers and different understandings towards these two kinds of knowledge. Based on the analysis of different images of teachers at different stages of the professional development, it analyzes three aspects of the current education of teachers, that is, course contents, study methods and the role of trainers.