5th session – Values and Ethics

                                           

Before going any deeper in this topic:

Who was Comenius? Click the following clip to find out (in only 15 seconds!!!):

(Created using AI. Voice by Christian Soto ©️)

 And what is even more important: what is the Comenius Oath?

 

"The Comenius Oath is an ethical guideline that supports teacher's work and serves as a reminder that ethics are the foundation of the teaching profession"

 (oaj.fi)

In 2017, the Teachers' Union in Finland established the Comenius' Oath as a way of supporting teachers and to provide this profession with an ethical framework. Thus, Comenius Oath for teachers is the equivalent to the Hippocratic Oath to physicians or the Archimedean Oath for engineers. Through this link you can access the complete text. 

1. Aspects of ethics to be considered in the everyday work

Teacher are responsible for preparing "good citizens" who are fit to participate in an organised civic community (Aristotle,1998; Goodlad, 1990; Hern 1985; Saha 2000, 2004; Younis and Yates 1999). To achieve this goal the basic values for the teaching profession are well defined: dignity, fairness, responsibility and freedom. In Finland teachers enjoy a wide range of pedagogical freedom in curriculum development as long as the current law is respected. This autonomy ranks among the highest in Europe. Features such as perseverance, respect and patience are also highly recommended attached to these values. A constant challenge in their work involves finding the balance between personal autonomy and the work community.

    2. Ethical considerations in planning, implementing and assessing

As what defines the identity of a group of students is its heterogeneity, we can not understand these groups as a single, static block. Teachers must carefully pay attention to what methods are to be used and that better match the particular features of every group of students. Students have different backgrounds, different perspectives and levels of perception. This phenomenon is even more evident nowadays with the growing diversity among students. These situations are more easy identifiable when dealing with students with special needs. If these aspects are not taken into account during the planning and implementing phase, the whole learning process could be put into hazard.

So far it is somehow clear that planning and implementation should be adapted and tailored fit attending the group particular characteristics. This naturally meditated concept gives rise to the following question:  is the assessment process equal and fair enough to everyone if we consider these differences? From a philosophical perspective this is a really difficult question to be answered. From a teacher's perspective if the basic values represented above – and reflected in the Comenius Oath – are scrupulously followed, the assessment phase should not represent further difficulty in its final outcomes. 

     3. Promotion of equality, human rights and student participation

These aspects can be seen from two different perspectives:

Teacher perspective: applying inclusive teaching strategies, culturally appropriate teaching methods, showing nearness and respect, applying examples relevant to different backgrounds, through group works and promoting solidarity as mere examples among many others.

The educational institution perspective: fair admission policies, accessible buildings, respecting origins and identities, creating appropriate codes of behaviour, facilitating student council and through promoting a permanent welcoming environment.

The teachers represent here the direct contact with the students, hence the importance of following these premises. Depending on the teacher's ability handling these concepts, the success in the interaction with the students may be affected positively or negatively. Working on nearness – for example learning students names and their pronunciation – may result in a more smooth and equal relationship. On the other hand, the educational institution represents the administrative side of the process and ultimately, the external image. Taking care of the institutional details in terms of promotion of equality not only is a question of complying with the law, it improves the internal environment of the entity and its external projection as well. And with all that, they contribute to the positive image of the whole country in educative terms.

    4. Competence in values and ethics for teachers

Teachers have – or should have – the peculiar characteristic of not being able to separate personal and professional aspects regarding practical reasoning. Hence the importance of possessing a firm and clear knowledge of what values and ethics are necessary to develop a career as a teacher. One's own moral features have its influence when interacting with pupils. This reflection on how reality is perceived will be applied in a sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously manner as a teacher.

The presence of competence in ethics values is marked by a single concept: respect. Respect conforms the foundations of ethics and values in teaching and it can be found in any of the teaching ethical principles: dignity, truthfulness, fairness and responsibility/freedom. If a teacher succeeds in identifying, analysing and assessing the own level of consciousness regarding these principles we can affirm that a satisfactory level of competence has been achieved.

    5. Special needs education

Working with students with special needs is one stage more during the teaching process, not a complete dedication task. In general, teachers must possess a great amount of different positive qualities but when dealing with students with special needs, aspects such as empathy and commitments must be here specially stressed. Contrary to the popular belief, this interaction is not only unilaterally started from the teacher. It can be seen more as a bilateral interaction where the student plays the important role of guiding the teacher in understanding any kind of existing need. Teachers then with the information provided are able to act in consequence, taking action and adapting the learning process –  and always taking into account the basic principle of equality seen above. Teachers also must be ready to accept their fallibility and to be ready to revise their viewpoints if needed.

    6. Legal issues

The legal perspective of teaching spans multiple facets: confidentiality, good administration, data treatment, safety and quite a lot of others. Ethics must be understood as the moral principles that govern someones's behaviour during an activity. These sensitive features of legal issues demand to be also treated in a very sensitive way. Hence, the importance of applying independence, honesty, impartiality, honesty and integrity to these aspects.  

The way to face legal issues in education from an ethical perspective starts with the simple fact of following the law. In order to avoid conflicts, a deep knowledge of legal issues affecting education is highly recommended. Equally important is that teachers regularly review materials and procedures that are sensitive to legal issues. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse that justifies an unethical behaviour. This is applicable to both teachers and students. Sometimes it might be situations where there is a conflict between values and the law. As a simple example, freedom of expression is a basic right to anyone but it could be sometimes used with unethical purposes.

    7. Intercultural and international issues

Mainly due to cultural and language differences the concepts of values and ethics may differ depending on the geographical origin of the members of the educative community – and that includes teachers and students. It is what Hofstede identifies as the "collective programming of the mind". It is out of the question that – to avoid further misunderstandings – the general mindset of a group of teachers should be integrated in the geographical mindset of the area where the teaching process takes place. This aspect is totally independent to the geographical origin of the teacher. It is then of vital importance for the teacher to show and even demonstrate with facts the ethical values operating in the teaching environment, both because of cultural rooting or because of being protected by the law. It is also very important as a teacher to be provided with an extra dose of patience, empathy and understanding when differences in ethic issues are identified due to this intercultural exchange. Here is where the basic values for the teaching profession named at the beginning should be repeated: dignity, fairness, responsibility with a twist of equality and a total consideration over human rights and student participation.

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• Sources:

  • www.finlex.fi​

  • www.oaj.fi. TheTrade Union of Education in Finland.​​

  • www.oph.fi(2020)​​

  • Ethics and Teaching. International Handbook of Research on Teachers and Teaching. (pp. 683-693)

  • Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.www.minedu.fi

  • Human Rights, Equality and Teacher Educatio. Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. August 2015:

    https://www.ihrec.ie/download/pdf/human_rights_equality_and_teache_education.pdf

  • Tirri, Kirsi. The Purposal Teacher. Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies and Department of Education, University of Helsinki, Finland.

    https.//cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/65028.pdf​​um

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  What is your personal opinion? Leave your comment down here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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