Children's Safety and Teacher Ethics

SESSION V – LEARNING SESSION
TEACHER’S PROFESSIONAL
CODE OF CONDUCT
Muriel Poisson
© IIEP-UNESCO
Policy Lab for Education Policy Experts and Practitioners:
‘Teaching profession: Policies and challenges’
Baku, 20-21 May 2014

Poisson 2013 © IIEP-UNESCO
PART I. What is a code?
2
Why a code?
To improve the ethics of the teaching profession
What is a code?
A set of guidelines, which details the set of
recognized ethical norms and professional
standards of conduct to which all members of a
profession must adhere
What does it include?
Core values (ethics) and standards of conduct
(behavior)

More than 60 countries have
adopted a code so far
3
Source: http://teachercodes.iiep.unesco.org/
 Countries with a general
code for the public
service
 Countries with a law on
the status of the teacher
 Countries having
developed a code several
decades ago
 Countries having
adopted a code after the
nineties
 Countries undergoing a
revision of their code

Various perceptions of codes
4
 National codes of conduct
and regional or provincial
codes of conduct (USA,
Canada), school code
 Code developed by a
teacher union, while no
code is currently applicable
(Sweden)
 Code under development
 Lack of awareness about
the existence of a code
We do
have a
code!
No, we
don’t!

1. Scope of a code
5
Standards for the behaviour
and professional practice of
teachers
Code of ethics
A set of
inspirational
goals based
around values
Code of conduct
A more detailed
set of standards
for professional
and personal
conduct based on
the values set in
the code of ethics
Standards of
professional
practice
A set of standards,
which apply to all
registered
teachers, that
articulate what all
teachers should be
able to do
Source: Victoria institute of Teaching, 2013

2. Target of a code
6
 Target the primary and secondary levels of
the education system?
 Additional codes for early-childhood and
tertiary education?
 Apply equally to tenured and contractual
staff?
“Given their importance in the
education process, and their unique
position of trust and influence,
especially on pupils, the code should
focus on teachers”

3. Objectives of a code
7
 Improve the ethics of the teaching
profession
 Improve regulation and control of
teacher misconduct
 Protect students from unethical
conduct of teachers
 Promote a positive image of the
teaching profession
 Promote a feeling of professional
identity among teachers
 Improve the quality of teaching

Major ethical issues/dilemmas
8
 Offers private tutoring to
students
 Use teacher unions to avoid
disciplinary sanctions
 Takes advantage of personal
relations to be
recruited/promoted/transferred
 Is absent without justification
 Favours/disadvantages certain
students
 Give money/gifts to a civil
servant to be
recruited/promoted/transferred
 Disseminates confidential
information
 Lies about
qualifications/diplomas
 Diverts school funding
 Is physically violent with a
student
 Collects illegal fees from
students
 Uses harassment with a
student
 Steals school equipment
 Has sexual relations with a
student
 Goes to work under the
influence of alcohol (or drugs)

‘Children’s safety’
9
« Children’s safety is of utmost importance
because once in the school, the children
become the sole responsibility of the teachers
in all aspects. It is also important that the child
gets to learn something of value in the school ».
Participant in IIEP Forum on teacher codes, December 2011

10
4. Main steps in code development

11
 Review existing laws
and regulations
applying to the teaching
profession in the
country considered
 Analyze current codes
(including any existing
code in the country
considered)
 Commission surveys,
case studies (for
instance, on cases
presenting specific
ethical difficulties) and
briefs
Ontario College of
Teachers, Canada
• international and
national literature
• Education Act,
Teaching Profession
Act, School Board and
Teachers Collective
Negotiations Act
• policy statements and
practices from various
teacher organizations
and other self-
regulatory professions
5. Review of existing regulations

12
6. Consultation process
 Involve all interested
parties
 Provide clear/concise info
before launching the
process
 Ensure that all
stakeholders are heard
 Ensure that the
consultation is accessible
to all
 Record all the inputs
accurately
 Provide feedback on how
the consultation was used
General Teaching Council
for England, UK
April 2008 report:
information about
workshops with teachers,
parents, school
governors, young people,
other children's
professionals and head
teachers
May 2008 report : views of
60 teachers on the future
of teaching

7. Drafting the core values
13

8. Drafting the standards of conduct
14
Teachers
Teaching
profession
Parents
School
staff
Students

Teachers’ responsibilities
15
Towards
pupils
Towards parents
and
the community
Towards
Colleagues
Towards
employers
Towards
the profession
Shall respect the
learner’s right and
dignity without
prejudice to gender,
colour, age, race,
place of origin,
language, sexual
orientation, socio-
economic
background, family
status, religion, etc.
Shall conduct
himself/herself in a
manner that does
not show disrespect
to the values, beliefs
and customs of the
parents, and to the
broader community.
Shall refrain from
undermining the
status and authority
of his/her
colleagues.
Shall be truthful
when making
statements about
his/her
qualifications and
credentials.
Shall act in a
manner that
upholds the
honour and
dignity of the
profession.

16
9. Adopting the code
Education Department,
Hong Kong (China)
The Education
Department has issued a
circular to all schools to
encourage them to
adopt the Code for their
teaching and non-
teaching staff and to
send the Code to
parents, suppliers and
contractors for
reference
16
 Adopt the code formally
 Ask the members of the
teacher service
commission/registration
board to adhere to the
code
 Ask teachers to sign a
copy of the code when
accepting a position
 Make the code binding for
teacher
accreditation/certification

Conclusion: planning the
development of the code
17

QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE
18
What are the major
challenges to code
success?

“Useful instruments, not
effectively enforced”
 Limited access to the codes
 Absence of training
 Low capacity to enforce the codes
 Little knowledge of procedures for lodging
complaints
 Lack of “watchdogs”
 Role played by teacher unions
 No database on evidences of unethical
practices
19

---
-
---
Existing and potential problems in the
monitoring and control of code application

PART II. How to make the
codes useful?
21
1. Simplify the norms and make them as relevant as
possible
2. Promote ownership by including the issue of
professional conduct in teacher training
3. Ensure the wide diffusion of the code
4. Strengthen complaints systems
5. Monitor code implementation on a regular basis

© IIEP-UNESCOPoisson 2012
1. Simplify the norms
22
 Respondents to the
‘without code’
questionnaire
mostly felt that a
code should be
between 5 and 6
pages
 21 % felt that it
should be less than
5 pages
 Only 13% felt that
the code should be
more than 20 pages
The one page Alberta code

23
2. Promote ownership
 Develop appropriate
material to help the
education profession and
community to understand
the code, and be informed
of reporting mechanisms,
such as:
• flyers
• detailed handbook
• resource kit
• videos
 Use this material in self-
study or group discussions
on ethical dilemmas
Victorian Institute of
Teaching, Australia
Solving an ethical
dilemma
How would you react to a
student who said ‘if it tell
you something, will you
keep it a secret?’

24
3. Ensure wide diffusion of the code
TEACHERS PUPILS PARENTS COMMUNITY
 Circular letter to all
teachers/schools
 Information meetings
with teachers and unions
 Posters/flyers in all
schools
 A dedicated webpage
 Media outreach
 Ref. to the code in the
school newsletter
 A toolkit to help schools
organize communication
campaigns
 Publication of articles in
specialized press for
teachers
 Media outreach
(TV, radio,
newspapers)
 Posters/flyers in
all classrooms
 Distribution of a
brochure
 Information
meetings with PTAs
 Media outreach
 Ref. to the code in
the parents’
handbook
 A dedicated
webpage
 Publication of
articles in
specialized press
for parents
 Suggestion of
possible awareness
activities during the
school year
 Local elected officials
and community
leaders invited to
participate in school
activities devoted to
the code
 Local education
administrators
invited to deliver
messages about the
code during special
school events

Dissemination modes
25
Modes and efficiency of dissemination of the code
(according to ‘with code’ respondents)

26
Poster displaying the code,
New Zealand

27
4. Strengthen complaint mechanisms
 Establish a joint committee
responsible for collecting,
examining, and responding to
complaints
 Include unions in the committee,
as full members or observers
 Consider a range of sanctions,
depending on the gravity of the
misconduct:
• disciplinary action
• removal from the teachers’
register
• reinstatement, in the event of
a non-guilty ruling
IIEP survey
Most appropriate
sanctions for
inappropriate behaviour:
• warnings (79 per cent)
• exclusion from the
teaching profession
(63 per cent)
• transfer (53 per cent)
Only 40 per cent of the
respondents agreed that
fines or sanctions in the
form of amicable
agreements should be
given

28
5. Monitor code implementation
 Follow-up and analyze:
• number of copies distributed
• number of teachers who have signed the
code
• existence of teacher education modules
• number and types of complaints received
• number of investigations conducted
• number and types of sanctions taken
 Visit schools to evaluate the extent of
enforcement of the code
 Publicize success stories emphasizing the
positive impact of the code
 Publish an annual report based on these
findings

29Opinion survey
 Do you have easy access to copies of the teacher code of conduct?
 As someone working in education, to what extent has the code been helpful as a guide
to resolving the ethical problems and dilemmas you face in your everyday work?
 Have you or your colleagues been given any training on the code?
 Do you find the code easy to understand?
 To what extent are you familiar with the procedures for making complaints about
professional misconduct by colleagues?
 To what extent do you think complaints are taken seriously?
 To what extent is the code of conduct adequately enforced?
 Please state briefly what you think are the main problems in enforcing the code of
conduct: ................
 Comparing the situation before and after the introduction of the code, what impact
has the code had on improving the professional conduct of teachers?

Conclusion
 A code is a document whose main objective is to
improve the ethics of the teaching profession
 It is intended for teachers, should be included in
teacher training, and adherence should be
mandatory
 A code should be formulated in such a way that it
presents what should be done in a positive
manner, and should treat principally teachers’
values and relationships with others
 There should be a procedure by which complaints
can be registered against teachers whose
behaviour violate code regulations
 Code development requires careful planning…
30

Group discussion 1
31
Identify major ethical
issues/dilemmas faced by
Azeri teachers in their daily
work that are/should be
addressed in the code
WARNING!
 Try to be systematic
 Try to be specific, referring to concrete examples
 Try to prioritize malpractice / their seriousness
and frequency

Group discussion 2
32
Develop a strategic
communication plan for
the code that has just
been adopted in
Azerbaijan
WARNING!
 Envisage different means of circulation of the code,
and a calendar
 Ensure that all teachers but also the general public
know about the code
 Reflect on the role of teacher organizations/unions
in the process

Group discussion 3
33
Discuss mechanisms to
report misconducts at
different levels of the
education system
WARNING!
 Study the reporting mechanisms used in
Azerbaijan
 Identify key actors to be mobilized at each level of
the Azeri education system
 Explain their main functions in terms of reporting

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