Changing roles of teaching professionals: issues & challenges

The profession of teaching has existed in the society since the ancient era. With changing times, the roles of teaching professionals too has gone under drastic transformations. Today, the roles and responsibilities of teachers are not only limited to delivering quality lectures and imparting best skills to students but also involves sustaining a job characterized by excessive pressure, conflicting demands, role ambiguity, and a heap of administrative obligations. This shift in the job role has impacted the quality of the lessons taught in the classrooms, stress levels, general wellbeing and overall quality of life of the teaching professionals. This paper attempts to highlight the impact of role ambiguity as a key factor in causing overwhelming pressure, stress and dissatisfaction among the academicians. These issues, suggestions for empowering academicians and implications of the study will be discussed during the presentation.