Week+6+-+Ethics+and+Moral+Issues

=__Week 6 - Ethics and Moral Issues__= By Clare Zagorski

The study of ethics and morality enters the complex and subjective sphere of philosophy and social justice; never a black-and-white area to consider.

Ethical Codes of Conduct and standards are embedded in all professions. For medical practitioners, these are quite cumbersome (and need to be!). In the corporate world, basic corporate responsibility tends to be posed in a more specific context that underpins the company values and mission statement.

Ethics and morality, as a function of individual beliefs and values has obvious implications for Codes of Conduct and other ethical guidelines. That is, they tend to be ambiguously worded and very much open to interpretation, and hence take a similar form and tone in offering up vague guidelines. For example, the Teachers' Code of Ethics has 'Integrity', 'Respect' and 'Responsibility' as its three guiding values. However, what this actually means to individuals will likely be a personal point of difference.

An interesting consideration is: If Ethical Codes of Conduct and guidelines are so broad, and could be successfully argued from different perspectives (say, in a defense legal case), then what is the point of having them there?

I would suggest that **__ACCOUNTABILITY__** is the underlying reason behind all Codes of Conduct, no matter how interpretable they may be. We all need to have something definitive in place to remind us that we ARE indeed accountable. And this is especially so for teachers, and other professionals in a position of community trust - which was talked about in the lecture. Furthermore, because Ethical Codes are so ambiguous in nature, it would come down to an examination of a Teacher's **__INTENT__** in their professional practice and conduct. That is, if a teacher is deemed to have acted inapproporately, but who is also able to argue that this inappropriate outcome was an accidental by-product of **GOOD & INNOCENT** intent, we would hope, as pre-service teachers, that we are afforded an element of **PROTECTION** by the Teacher's Code of Conduct. Conversely, if an inappropriate act is carried out with **WILFULL INTENT**, then the Code should theoretically offer **PUNITIVE MEASURES** for this, in order to set binding precedents that we all become accountable to.

For teachers, ethics is an interesting one to consider, because within teaching there is a wide and varied cross-section of individuals attracted to the profession, especially compared to other professions. There are many factors that contribute to this, but a reasonably low tertiary cut-off score, as well as financial disincentives shape a very diverse population of individuals who become / are teachers. Whether this is a good thing for the practice of teaching is another ethical consideration. In the context of LaTrove almost trebling the volume of DipEd students in it's 2009 intake, one would suggest a simultaneous //dilution of quality pre-service teachers//. Removed from classroom ethics, which is a seperate ethical issue, this alone poses an interesting ethical challenge facing the future of education.

What do you think?!