The complexity of the present time and the diversity of solicitations that schools have to face nowadays have reinforced the strategic importance that education still has in our society. As a consequence, education has deserved a quite particular attention by the political power. This attention has been translated into various changes aiming at adjusting the educational systems to the present time. Along this process, teachers have been given a special role, as the transformations that are to be implemented in the teaching area and the success of the students depend, widely, on them. Nevertheless, the possibility of the teachers to pursue, in better conditions, the aims of education depend, in our opinion, on three factors: professional competence, professional identity and professional teaching. Bearing in mind the aspects referred to above, we have analyzed some of the challenges and problems that schools and teachers have to face nowadays. These have obstructed the change and the improvement of their daily practice. Besides that, we have listed some aspects that we consider essential to raise the prestige of this profession and to give back to the teachers the leading role and recognition that they deserve in our society.
Professional identity; Professional teaching; Autonomy; Curricular practice