Nauczyciele w strukturze społeczno-zawodowej

The article provides a sociological characteristic of teachers from the viewpoint of features placing this category in a wider social structure. The analysis encompasses also the degree of internal coherence of this category. It is but a fragment of more extensive analyses concerning the place of teachers in the society's macrostructure. The study reveals that teachers represent a socio-professional category, which is characterized with a specific structure of social features typical for the inteligentsia and here mainly in the area of the level of educational background and cultural consumption and, to a smaller extent, in the area of performed managerial functions (absence of expanded formal hierarchic structure in the education system) and income levels. They represent the most numerous professional category among the intelligentsia (not counting technicians). According to the estimates of the teachers themselves their social position is closest to that of civil officers, and it is estimated to be each lower than that of doctors, lawyers, and engineers. And oven though the teachers do not constitute an internally fully homogeneous category — the educational background proved to be a main dimension of differentiation — they display distinct features of a socio-professional group. This is confirmed among others by the observed strong tendency towards maintaining social and marital contacts within their own professional category, convergence of estimates as regards the socio-professional position held by them as well as observance of their own specific attitude to work or personality features. Summing it up the authors believe that teachers may constitute along with other professional categories a sociological unit of studies on the social structure.