ABSTRACT
The term ‘professionalism’ is widely used by teachers and school leaders. Wider society generally knows what to expect of a professional, and a profession knows what it expects of itself; it will have a shared purpose. School leaders are prone to lament that they have to fulfil all the roles of all other professionals in their daily work. A professional’s intervention into the life of another person is done with permission and agreement, and with the intention that the result is better for the beneficiary. Medicine is also controlled by the law of the land. Doctors are constrained not to do various actions by the prevailing national legal code, no matter what they might think or be able to do with the patient’s consent. The professional relationship is controlled both by the professional body’s rules and the law of the jurisdiction. Headteachers occupy an influential position in society and shape the teaching profession.
