Unit 1
Teachers, Professional Ethics, and Ethical Decision Making

Overview

Unit 1 looks at the ethical dimensions of the teaching profession, which also apply to educational administrators, and professional ethics in the Canadian school system as a whole. The unit evaluates the reasons why it is important for educators to be conversant with the legal and ethical rules as well as the ramifications of these rules. It examines various theories of ethical decision making, recommends a model, and identifies the elements that make this model a good one.

This first unit analyzes the general background, main concepts, and core notions of ethics relating to, and teachers’ responsibilities in, education. It also discusses ethical decision-making processes and procedures.

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. explain why educators must know about ethics and law in education.
2. describe what is meant by professional ethics.
3. discuss the ethical context in which teachers have to function.
4. outline the general background, central concepts, and core notions of ethics in education.
5. determine whether or not teachers belong to a profession, and, if so, identify what governs their professional ethics.
6. differentiate between teleological and deontological systems of ethics, and explain why this differentiation is important.
7. review foundational ethical principles and their relevance to an ethical teacher.
8. assess the nature of ethical enquiry.
9. define the terms “respect of autonomy,” “nonmaleficence,” “beneficence,” “fidelity,” and “justice” in the context of foundational ethical principles.
10. differentiate between consequentialist and nonconsequentialist theories.
11. evaluate whether or not teachers should make decisions based on the notion that duty, obligation, and principle are more important than the consequences of their decisions.
12. differentiate between intuitive and critical-evolutionary ethical decision making.
13. analyze a decision-making model.