Influence of Law and Ethics

Identifying and addressing an Ethical Dilemma

In 'creating ' (because it's fictional) the ethical dilemma I intend to reflect on and address, I've added a touch of poetic license to a variety of 'old tales' and potential possible outcomes either seen or heard about in the past. I guess it's the merging of a few unfounded stories and 'what ifs'. My 'inspiration' comes from a story I heard about of a Professional who  (a long time ago) had a few drinks and started  talking about their students in a less than ethical manner - mainly regarding their culture and race. It's never been proven and is urban legend these days, but made me wonder - what if, in todays with Social Networking, something similar occurred online. There are quite a few popular teacher's groups on facebook and sometimes people comment in ways that often make me wonder how I would feel to be a staff member or even student at this person's school.                       All credit though, is given to the moderators of most of these pages, who either delete or shut down any comments like the one I've mentioned, and of late even political posts.

So the scenario:

A teacher  responds to a post on a teacher's group facebook page, that opens up discussion around Maori student achievement. He/she responds in the comments in a racially motivated tone, placing blame on families, behaviours - a little on the side of 'deficit thinking models' featured in our week 28 Cultural Responsibility content. In the real world I would hope this would be promptly shut down or deleted, but let's say for this example it isn't.Sharing personal opinions and view points on an online forum places one at risk at the best of times, regardless if the group requires you to request to join and be 'accepted'. Firstly how are the members of the group moderated upon entry? Are all educators or are some parents/media etc? Secondly, regardless, once an opinion or any statement is online, it's pretty much part of your digital footprint. This teacher may have just added somewhat of a wart to theirs. Online posts and comments can reach beyond the intended audience and impact the wider community. The confidence and trust the community had in that teacher has been tainted, let alone the perception of the school. 

Code of Ethics:

The key stakeholders here are the students. If a learner cannot trust their place of learning and their teachers then ability to learn - take risks - feel accepted has been affected. Not only this but their identity as part of a community has been tarnished. Another key stakeholder here is the school community - their reputation is on the line - Principal, teachers, BOT, are potentially open to judgement based on perception from a comment that may be taken out of context or rightfully within context, yet betraying the trust families had in the educator.In the Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession (n.d) within the area of 'Commitment to Teaching', teachers are required to have  professional, respectful and collaborative relationships with colleagues - this action has placed professional relationships at high risk - not only difference of opinion, but at risk of negative exposure also. Another part of this code is the commitment to Tangata Whenua partnerships in the learning environment. Having a fixed mindset around culture and race places this at risk also. The area of 'Commitment to Learners' requires teachers to respect the diversity, heritage, language and culture of all learners, it also states teachers need to be fair and effecitvely manage assumptions/personal beliefs. Such a public statement can be categorised as less than effective. The facebook comment also contradicts the Professional Standard of Learning Focussed - Future, again the focus is around safe learning environment and cultural diversity.

Potential negative consequences:

• Vulnerable position - loss of position or demotion, placed on competency - Principals and Teachers are legally responsible to maintain honour and dignity of fellow professionals and students.
• Public outcry - local community and/or media - either toward the individual teacher or school
• Permanently tainted own reputation
• Reputation of school and community in potential disrepute.
• Trust and competency of individual and/or school now in question.

Possible Actions and Implementation:

Rejected ideas:

• Reply to the comment - refute and attempt to seperate the school from the teacher's comment - ( will only compound the scenario and add 'fuel to the fire')
• Ignore the situation and hope it goes away - ask for comment to be delete ( can't control who has seen it or taken screen shot - ignoring won't necessarily solve the longterm problem of policy around social media and the deficit thought model the teacher has displayed)

Possible Acceptable Ideas:

• Address the immediate concerns around the statement and antecedent  behind the comment with individual staff member. Ask for explanation and have in-depth discussion around both use of social media and deficit thought model. Create an action plan and support plan around this to be regularly reviewed. 
• Unpack with the individual and wider staff the school's Social network policy - supported with Professional development.
• Unpack the Teacher's Code of Ethics with whole staff, supported by appropriate Professional Development
• Revisit and share the policy for reporting behaviour/complaints - establish across all stakeholders (staff, parents etc)
• Engage individual in a process that helps with competency around the code of professional responsibility (Would this be appropriate for a first offence? Perhaps the response of the individual during discussion would help guide this decision)
• Inform and consult the Board of Trustees of the situation and following actions as a response.

Collste, G.(2012). Applied and professional ethics. Kemanusiaan,19(1), 17–33.

Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual....

Education Council. (n.d). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-et...

Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers

Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of teaching with social media, 1–7.