Generalization of Teachers' Responsibilities

Generalization of Teachers' Responsibilities
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The Comparison of the Impact on Teachers' Responsibilities Under the Eastern and Western Cultures
There is a substantial variation in teachers' responsibilities in the Eastern and Western cultures. It is primarily due to the distinct social values, level of expectations, and educational philosophy dissimilarities between the two societies.
Eastern Culture
In Eastern culture, teachers have more burden due to greater expectations from the education system, parents, and the school management system. (Feng, 2022). This is because the role of teachers in Eastern society is multifaceted, and they are considered custodians of cultural and traditional knowledge. It burdens the primary role of a teacher as an educator. The expectations are extended that they will teach the academic curriculum, monitor their educational and life choices, and guide their academic journey. Teachers are believed to be role models for the students in Eastern society, so they must exhibit exceptional work ethic, moral values, and exemplary behavior both in and outside the school. They are also expected to act as a disciplinarian for the students to raise morally and uprightly responsible individuals. It is also noteworthy that teachers need to be provided with the required resources, which leaves them with limited energy and time.
Teachers are responsible for preparing lessons, evaluating class and home assignments, tutoring the pupils, and managing class along with the professional routine of attending training programs, activity assessments, preparing for inspection visits, and academic counseling (Agyapong et al., 2022). Apart from these responsibilities, teachers have their own families and personal life. They bring anxiety and stress to their homes (Wei, 2022). The situation is intense in some specific Asian countries, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea, where expectations from teachers are higher than in other countries, including longer working hours comparatively, exams and result pressure, parental involvement, adherence to the hierarchical system along with moral, ethical and cultural forces playing an equally important role. Female teachers are more burdened as they have greater responsibilities at home. Some individuals cannot handle the pressure and work overload, so young females like the South Korean teacher committed suicide due to parent bullying (Mackenzie, 2023). The greater expectations from parents also increase the responsibilities of the teacher.
Western Culture
Although teachers experience stress and burden regardless of the culture and country due to greater competition and social expectations, the teacher support programs are better in the Western culture. Teachers collaborate with school management and coordinators to provide necessary student support (Fang & Gopnath, 2009). The specific role of the teacher varies from culture to culture. Still, the universal responsibilities of the teachers remain the same, which keeps them engaged in their commitment to the provision of better education and the student's progress. In the West, teachers focus on student-centered learning, allowing the teacher to follow an open teaching style because the main idea is to encourage critical thinking among students. The emphasis is on the pedagogical approach, which provides flexibility and freedom to teachers to teach in a comfortable environment per their preference and comfort (Iyer, 2015). Teachers' working hours and time are structured and regulated as work-life balance is more valuable in these societies. Parental involvement in Western culture is less recurrent and peculiar than in Eastern society.
Teachers' responsibilities are largely influenced by social norms, national educational policy, and the learning system of the school, which devise the plan for the teachers to perform in a certain way. The responsibilities in both cultures are similar, and the expectations also, but Western culture provides a support system to the teachers and guidance with effective control and supervision, which makes the work somehow less stressful. In a recent research, 60% of the respondents, i.e., teachers, want to quit their jobs. This is mainly due to the stress associated with the responsibilities of a teacher (Collie & Mansfield, 2022). According to Morrison (2022), 85% of the school staff, including teachers and principals, expressed their concerns regarding growing pressure, stress, and anxiety related to teaching. The increase in the workload and expectations negatively impacts the performance of both the teachers and students (Dorji et al., 2022). The school management needs to provide support and assistance by hiring staff who can work in collaboration with the teachers and provide them with the necessary help to build a positive and constructive learning environment.
School Management System
The school management system includes several administrative roles that ensure all guidelines and policies are followed efficiently and effectively. The school management system formulates rules that the teachers will follow as part of their responsibilities (Sack, 2012). They define, manage, and assess the roles of teachers and their performance.
Implementation of the Curriculum
The school's administration coordinates with the teachers to design and implement the curriculum for the class in Western culture. Teachers are mainly responsible for implementing the curriculum as they plan and deliver the lecture, but the preparation, designing, implementation, and evaluation of the curriculum are undertaken by teachers in the Eastern culture.
Class Management
The teacher's responsibility is to manage and keep a positive, competitive, and progressive learning environment within the class. The management expects the teachers to create, impose, and maintain discipline during the lectures and respond to the problems accordingly and positively.
Assessment and Feedback
The teachers are given the guidelines and format to assess and grade the students on their assignments, quizzes, and exams according to the already established making and grading system, along with the feedback to all the concerned people, including students, parents, and school administration. Adeline (2021) indicates that in Asian culture, schools are not well equipped with the appropriate grading system, causing issues and concerns for the students and parents. It increases stress among students and raises questions for one teacher’s assessment.
Training and Development
The school management system is responsible for the growth and development of the teachers by offering them appropriate training and learning programs that can help develop the required skills for the respective course. Teachers' engagement in these programs is essential to keep up with the latest knowledge and developments in their study area. Huo et al. (2021) stated that Eastern culture lacks training and development programs for the teachers, which are essential for preparing teachers for future challenges and introducing them to new concepts and theories.
Student Support
Student support is the shared responsibility of the school administration and teachers. They must collaborate to support and help students with academic achievements, learning assistance, resource allocation, crisis response, formulate and implement policies and rules, offer funds, community programs, skills development, extracurricular activities, and educational and learning opportunities within and outside school. In Asian schools, student support is solely the responsibility of teachers, which burden them with extra work. It requires additional planning and scheduling for the teachers (Ren et al., 2022). Whereas in the Western culture, the student support department is a separate entity that professionals hired by the school.
Social Expectations
A wide range of social expectations are associated with the role of teachers. They are expected to fulfill specific responsibilities and jobs besides their fundamental role of teaching and academic assistance. These expectations are driven by norms of the society, the community, authorities, cultural values, and institutional policy (Juvonen & Toom, 2023). Some of the significant social expectations of teacher responsibilities are described below;
Building a Safe and Comprehensive Environment
The society expects teachers to create and foster a safe and positive environment for the students within the teaching space. They are anticipated to offer an inclusive environment where students are encouraged to grow while engaging in healthy activities that develop social, emotional, and academic skills within students (Dietrich, 2021). They must accommodate the needs, requirements, and necessities of the students.
Moral and Character Building