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In many traditions, teachers are honored as holding a place of central importance to the development of society. However, there are signs that teaching as a profession is increasingly being marginalized in society: research studies as well as statements in the public forum tell us that teaching has become a more and more difficult job over the years. The frequent use of terms such as "deskilling" (Apple, 1987) and "intensification" (Woods, 1999; Ballet et al., 2006; Hargreaves 1994, 2003) reflect this. Research on teaching often looks at the negative side of the ledger rather than the positive, focusing heavily on topics such as teacher stress and burnout (Vandenberghe & Huberman, 1999; Wilhelm et al, 2000). Teachers complain about being under constant pressure to respond to reform initiatives, in particular to outcome-oriented and standards-based programs that demand many changes in teachers' work without always delivering the hoped-for gains in student achievement; in many countries teachers are poorly rewarded for their efforts, paid low salaries and offered few opportunities for advancement. Overall, rapid changes in the work of teaching have left many teachers "grieving for a lost self" (Nias, 1993), struggling to make sense of the latest reform and wondering whether it is worth their effort to invest in mandated new programs (Gitlin & Margonis, 1995).

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-6091-522-2_1

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