Professorial Professionalism

Over the past few weeks, ProfHacker has posted articles about disruptive student behavior, in terms of classroom antics (talking during a lecture) and the unfortunate ethical violation of cheating in classes. These are not behaviors we want to deal with, and they are not typically issues we have been trained in our graduate programs to handle. But we have them in our classes and in our offices nonetheless.

It’s unfortunate, we might think, that a student exhibiting cheating or rude behavior will one day get a job in “the real world.” This student could become our child’s teacher or a local government official. As university professors, we are training future leaders. We want them to exit the institution as young adults ready to take their place in industry and in society, demonstrating knowledge in a discipline and professional behaviors.

But first we have to define “professional” behavior. A recent Inside Higher Education article cited a study from York College of Pennsylvania where researchers studied recent college graduates and their notions of “professionalism.” Researchers found that “personal interaction skills, including courtesy and respect”; “the ability to communicate, which includes listening skills”; “a work ethic which includes being motivated and working on a task until it is complete”; and “appearance” as part of their definition of “professionalism.” Additionally, the study also noted that “the traits or behaviors most associated by the respondents with ‘unprofessionalism’ included ‘appearance, which includes attire, tattoos, and piercings’; ‘poor communication skills including poor grammar’; ‘poor work ethic’; and ‘poor attitude.’ “

These are not really definitions; they are traits, skills, abilities, ideals. Because someone dresses well does not make her a “professional.” Similarly, having a tattoo doesn’t make her less than professional. What constitutes professional behavior is, of course, dependent upon context: geographic location, age, gender, profession, industry. In higher education, do students know how we define professional behavior or are we assuming they already possess this knowledge (and skill)?

We speak often with our friends and colleagues about student misbehavior, their rudeness, their lack of engagement in the courses we teach, their unwillingness to do work assigned to them. We often wonder to ourselves, “what’s wrong with kids today”? The Inside Higher Ed article is interesting in that it presents dozens of comments from IHE readers that shift responsibility from/to parents, from/to primary and secondary schools, from/to the students themselves. We often wonder who is to blame for this type of behavior in students. There is another side we must consider when we discuss students’ misbehavior and the responsibility for this behavior. We must also look at ourselves. If we want students to present ethical and professional behavior in our classes (and in their future outside the academy), we must model that for them.

Instead of modeling the professional behavior we wish students to possess, are we modeling something else? Are we ever rude to students? Do we meet student expectations? Are we engaged with the the students’ interests? Maybe we are–inadvertently–modeling rude/disruptive behavior to our students. Maybe they are reflecting that behavior back at us. Maybe.

Are professors professionals displaying professionalism? Of course we think so. Do our students believe this to be true? Is the concept of professionalism limited to our workplaces or our professions? What traits are indicative of professional behavior (in your opinion)? How much responsibility do we have, as professors, to make sure that when our students leave the institution they are “professional”? Please leave comments below.

[Image by Flickr user joshuahoffmanphoto ; licensed under Creative Commons]