Code of Ethics
Code of
ethics is an essential and a compulsory document for people to excel and
maintain their professionalism in their career. Otherwise people will do
whatever they feel is right for them. This will cause an emotional and physical
harm to the person or people on the receiving end. The teaching profession is
no exception and the teachers are bound by the code of ethics especially formulated
for teachers. This helps to maintain the professionalism required in teaching
profession.
The New
Zealand teachers’ code of ethics has been put in place to ensure “Teachers certificated to practice in New Zealand are
committed to the attainment of the highest standards of professional service in
the promotion of learning by those they teach, mindful of the learner's ability,
cultural background, gender, age or stage of development.” (“Code of
Ethics for Certificated Teachers | Education Council,” n.d.)
The above mentioned intricate task is
achieved by collaborating with colleagues, learners, parents and family and the
wider community.
The code of ethics is based on
four fundamental principles:
“Autonomy to treat people
with rights that are to be honoured and defended
Justice to share power
and prevent the abuse of power
Responsible care to do good and
minimise harm to others
Truth to be honest
with others and self.” (“Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers | Education
Council,” n.d.)
The registered teachers’ professional
obligation is towards the students they teach. They need to ensure that the
teaching and learning is happening in a safe environment. The commitment to the
learners is paramount. The learners of today are accessing digital media at an
alarming rate on their digital devices anytime anywhere. How do we keep these
learners safe from the digital challenges such as cyber safety, cybercrime and
cyber security.
To ensure learner safety, Educational council of New Zealand
has come up with some guidelines. For commitment to learners, it says:
“Teachers have a professional obligation to develop
and maintain professional relationships with learners based on the best
interests of those learners. A teacher who is both aware of social media and a
competent and confident user will be a role model for their learners and
encourage them to become good digital citizens.”(“Teachers & Social Media |
Commitment to Learners,” n.d.)
We as
teachers have to ensure a robust digital citizenship program in schools is
available to the students to ensure the students understand the pros and cons
of using digital media in schools and at the same time avoid any negative
activity on the network. The article
from Netsafe says that:
“The overall
objective for schools is to create a learning environment involving the safe
and responsible use of digital technology. This is largely achieved by
fostering a positive culture of digital technology use where challenges are
understood to exist. This approach should reduce negative outcomes by:
• reducing
the incidents of misconduct involving digital technology
• minimising harm to students by effectively
responding to incidents when they occur.”(“Digital
Technology: Safe and responsible use in schools.,” n.d.)
Ethical Dilemma
My school has recently embraced BYOD
program for year 9’s. However, this BYOD program is not restricted to year 9’s
as we have been encouraging other year levels to bring a device to school for
learning purposes. My school has installed “Linewize” monitoring software. This
keeps an eye on the students’ activity online. This means the students are
aware that their actions are being monitored. The year nines are doing the
digital citizen program to understand the pros and cons of digital world.
One aspect that really bothers me is that;
what if some students bring in an objectionable material saved on their devices
and show it to their close friends. How do we monitor that? Only time such
things will become apparent is when one of the students makes a complaint. So
the dilemma is, have I done enough to safeguard these students from such
dubious activities. To me this is analogous to a child bringing in a hardcopy
of that objectionable material and showing it to their friends.
Addressing the Potential Issue if it occurred in my
own practice
The Education act 1989 has provisions to
support teachers how to handle situations involving digital technology
incidences. Note “This
advice is based on the Guidelines for the Surrender and Retention of Property
and Searches and accompanying rules that the Secretary for Education released
in January 2014.” (“Digital
Technology: Safe and responsible use in schools.,” n.d.)
If a student
did bring an objectionable material to school, saved on their device and I was
notified of this by other students, then I can ask the student to reveal the
item and hand in the device to me provided I have reasonable grounds to believe
that such item exists on the concerned student’s device. This will then lead me to believe that
objectionable material could be detrimental to the learning environment and
affect other students emotionally.
Once
reasonable grounds have been established, I can get the concerned student to
reveal the item of “interest”. I can also get the student to reveal any other
objectionable items stored on his device and confiscate his device, noting the
time name and date of confiscation. The
reason for confiscation would be to establish the fact that the objectionable
material has not been circulated to other students and it will be necessary to
remove it from the device to avoid further harm. The confiscated device can
then be returned to the student or the student’s parents/guardians within two
days. This breach of trust and the ICT contract between the student and the
school can be forwarded to the senior management for restorative justice.
Bibliography
Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers | Education Council.
(n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2016, from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0
Digital Technology: Safe and responsible use in schools.
(n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from
http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf
Teachers & Social Media | Commitment to Learners. (n.d.).
Retrieved March 18, 2016, from
http://teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/guidelines/commitment-learners
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