Professionalism. Engaged professional learning refers to the commitment of educators to ethical and caring practice and to continued learning and professional development. The Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators states principles for professional responsibility, conduct, and performance of educators.

Texas educators are expected to understand the structure of the state’s education system and to implement state laws and regulations appropriate to their roles. Because of state accountability systems that depend on high stakes assessments that are under constant revision, Texas educators have to be able to reconcile public and private understandings of knowledge, curriculum, and students.

Hargreaves and Goodson suggested areas for educator autonomy to be cultivated in times of contradictory public press that are important in the UNT programs: (a) Commitment to caring for students; (b) Responsibility to discern and implement the curriculum, instruction, and caring appropriate to one’s particular students; (c) Responsibility to judge the social and moral worth of the curriculum; (d) Commitment to inquire with colleagues about issues of professional practice; (e) Engagement with families, communities, and students to create new structures to support student learning; (f) Commitment to self-directed growth and passion for learning; and (g) Honor for the complexity of excellent teaching.