Some factors that define teaching as a professional career are: A specialized body of knowledge, Emphasis on decision making, and Reflection.

A specialized body of knowledge: Research indicates that expert teachers possess at least four kinds of knowledge: Knowledge of content-which is a thorough understanding of a content area such as math, science, geography, or literature. Pedagogical content knowledge-which is the ability to illustrate abstract concepts, such as equivalent fractions in math or nationalism in history, in ways that are understandable to students. General pedagogical knowledge-which is knowledge of general principles of teaching and learning. Knowledge of learners and learning-which is the knowledge of theories of development and learning, such as understanding that...