CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY...CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY Second Online Survey:...
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CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY Second Online Survey: Feedback Summary Oct 2016 Building on our initial set of opening questions, the second survey examined what aspects of teaching should be covered by a code as opposed to school policy, how well the current Code of Ethics addressed issues arising from some specific scenarios, and what else we can do to make it easier for the profession to continue to contribute to this and other processes. The survey was open for one month, from 15 September to 17 October 2016 . The link to the survey was promoted through our Highlighter, our facebook page, and the home page of the Education Council website and people were encouraged to share the link with others. In the end we received 542 responses, building further on the 956 responses from the initial survey. This document provides a summary of the feedback received and the key themes that were identified through the range of supplementary comments. DEMOGRAPHICS The responses covered a similar spread as the first survey, with approximately 40% from those working in a primary education setting, 30% secondary education, and 20% from early childhood settings. We also had smaller numbers of participants from Māori medium, tertiary, intermediate, RTLB, area schools, special education and other specialist roles. The majority of participants identified themselves as teachers (51%), followed by those in leaderships roles such as DPs, Deans etc (14%). There were also a number of Principals (13%), Centre Managers (9%), and a small number other support roles (relief teachers, teacher aides, RTLB teachers, and very small number of undergraduates and parents as well). Once again, longer serving members of the profession made up the majority of participants, but we saw slightly higher numbers of those newer to the profession than last time: • More than 15 years 60% • 10-15 years 15% • 6-10 years 13% • 3-6 years 8% • 0-2 years 4%
Transcript of CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY...CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY Second Online Survey:...
CODEOFPROFESSIONALRESPONSIBILITYSecondOnlineSurvey:FeedbackSummary
Oct2016Buildingonourinitialsetofopeningquestions,thesecondsurveyexaminedwhataspectsofteachingshouldbecoveredbyacodeasopposedtoschoolpolicy,howwellthecurrentCodeofEthicsaddressedissuesarisingfromsomespecificscenarios,andwhatelsewecandotomakeiteasierfortheprofessiontocontinuetocontributetothisandotherprocesses.Thesurveywasopenforonemonth,from15Septemberto17October2016.ThelinktothesurveywaspromotedthroughourHighlighter,ourfacebookpage,andthehomepageoftheEducationCouncilwebsiteandpeoplewereencouragedtosharethelinkwithothers.Intheendwereceived542responses,buildingfurtheronthe956responsesfromtheinitialsurvey.Thisdocumentprovidesasummaryofthefeedbackreceivedandthekeythemesthatwereidentifiedthroughtherangeofsupplementarycomments.DEMOGRAPHICSTheresponsescoveredasimilarspreadasthefirstsurvey,withapproximately40%fromthoseworkinginaprimaryeducationsetting,30%secondaryeducation,and20%fromearlychildhoodsettings.WealsohadsmallernumbersofparticipantsfromMāorimedium,tertiary,intermediate,RTLB,areaschools,specialeducationandotherspecialistroles.Themajorityofparticipantsidentifiedthemselvesasteachers(51%),followedbythoseinleadershipsrolessuchasDPs,Deansetc(14%).TherewerealsoanumberofPrincipals(13%),CentreManagers(9%),andasmallnumberothersupportroles(reliefteachers,teacheraides,RTLBteachers,andverysmallnumberofundergraduatesandparentsaswell).Onceagain,longerservingmembersoftheprofessionmadeupthemajorityofparticipants,butwesawslightlyhighernumbersofthosenewertotheprofessionthanlasttime:
• Morethan15years 60%• 10-15years 15%• 6-10years 13%• 3-6years 8%• 0-2years 4%
RESPONSESUMMARIESThefirstsectionofthesurveywasbuiltaroundacoupleofscenarios,basedonactualcasesthathavecometotheEducationCouncilforreview.Theyexploredtheroleofthecode,localpolicy,andtheapplicationoftheexistingCodeofEthics.Q1:Thefirstscenariooutlinedaschoolcampsituationwheresomeoftheteachersandparenthelpersbroughtoutseveralofbottlesofalcoholoncethestudentswereinbed,withanumberofphotosofdrunkenbehaviourfindingtheirwaytofacebook.Thesurveyaskedwhataspectsofthissituationshouldbecoveredbythecodeandwhataspectsbyschoolpolicies.
• Respondentstypicallyfeltthatthekeyissuesraisedbythisscenarioshouldbecoveredinboththecodeandschoolpolicy,butwithdifferentlevelsofdetailoremphasis.
• Theissuesofrolemodelling,damagingthereputationoftheprofession,andspeakingoutifacolleagueisinbreachofthecodewereseenaskeyfocusareasforthecode.
• Whereas,issuessuchasalcoholuse,socialmedia,andcomplyingwithhealthandsafetyregulationswereseenastheprimarilyissuesforschoolpolicy.
Inthesupportingcommentsitwassuggestedthatthecodeshould‘provideguidelinesforschoolstoincorporateintotheirpolicies.’AnotherparticipanthighlightedtheMinistry’sEOTC(educationoutsidetheclassroom)guidelinesthatschoolsshouldbeawareof.Themajorityoftheremainingcommentsexpresseddisbeliefthatascenariolikethiscouldariseintoday’senvironmentandhighlightedastrongviewofthegeneralinappropriatenessofalcoholinthissituation.HowwelltheCodeofEthicsrelatestothisscenarioParticipantswerealsoaskedhowwellthecurrentCodeofEthicscoversthissituation:
• Themajority(56%)feltitcovereditreasonablywellbyprovidinggeneralprinciples• 22%feltitdidnotcoverthesituationwellorprovideanyusefulspecificguidance.• Asmallerproportion(16%)ofpeoplefeltitcovereditperfectly
Intheadditionalcomments,thegeneralthemesincludedsuggestionsthat:• TheCodeofEthicsdoesn’taddressthiswell,butitdoesn’tneedto–it‘sprimarilya
matterforschoolpolicy.• TheCodeofEthicsisbasicallyverygoodbutneeds‘atweakortwo’toreflectsocial
mediaandcontemporaryhealthandsafetyrequirements.(Theneedtoupdatethecodetoreflectmoderntechnologyandsocialmediawasastrongrecurringtheme).
• Areminderthatit’sacode,notahandbook–itsjobistoprovideguidingprinciples• Twoparticipantssuggesteddrugusewasamoresignificantissuethanalcoholintoday’s
environment.Q2:ThesecondscenariooutlinedasituationwhereabeginningteacherisaskedbythePrincipaltoprovideadditionalcareforastudentwhoishavingadifficulttimecopingwiththeseparationofhisparents.Thestudentindicateshe’dprefertodiscussitawayfromschoolandasksfortheteacher’smobilenumbersohecantextherandarrangetocatchupafterhours
ThesurveycitedthreerelevantstatementsfromthecurrentCodeofEthicsandaskedparticipantsiftheyfelttheseaddressedthesituationsufficiently.Theresponseswereasfollows:STATEMENTFROMTHECODE SUFFICIENT?
Yes NoCommitmenttoLearners:1.a)developandmaintainprofessionalrelationshipswithlearnersbaseduponthebestinterestsofthoselearners.
45% 55%
CommitmenttoLearners:1.f)promotethephysical,emotional,social,intellectualandspiritualwell-beingoflearners.
59% 41%
CommitmenttotheProfession:4.a)advancetheinterestsoftheteachingprofessionthroughresponsibleethicalpractice.
63% 37%
WealsoaskedpeopletoindicateoverallwhethertheCodeofEthicsprovidesadequateguidanceforthissortofsituation:40%answered‘Yes’,and60%answered‘No-moreisneeded’.ThegeneralconsensusfromtheresponsesaboveandthesupportingquestionswasthattheCodeofEthicsaddressesprinciplessuchasprotectingthereputationoftheprofessionandpromotingthesocial,physical,emotionalandspiritualwellbeingoflearnersverywell,butislesshelpfulfornavigatingthespecificissuesanddetailsofcircumstancesthatarise.Itwassuggestedthatprovidingmoreguidanceforbeginningteachersupfrontwouldbevaluable(ratherthan‘relyingon[negative]mediacoverage…togetasenseofwhattoavoid’).Anotherrespondentadded:‘Thecodeneedstocontaintheoverarchingstatementsfortheprofession[but]theneedforPDaboutvariousscenariosiscritical.’InadditiontoanumberofcommentsregardingtheinappropriaterequestofthePrincipalinthescenario,theremainingresponsesoutlinedtwokeythemes:i) Thecodecan’tcovereverysituationindetailanditshouldn’ttry• WeMUSTavoidalistofparticularsituationsinanycode.• Acodeofethicsdoesn'tneedtospelloutscenarios.That'stheroleofPLD.Acodeneedstoprovideguiding
principles.• TheCodeofEthicsdoesnotprovidespecificguidanceforthissituationandshouldn't…theprincipalshould
managethiswiththeyoungteacher.
ii) TheseissuesraisedinthesescenariosshouldformpartofongoingPLDandpracticediscussions-arangeofscenariosanddiscussionmaterialswouldbehelpfulforthis.
• Youngerteachers,especiallythoseinsecondaryschoolswhoarecloserinagetotheirstudents,needtohaveveryclearguidanceonwhatisacceptableasaprofessional
• Youcan'tdoeverythingwiththeCode.Thereiseducationalmaterialneededaswell,quitealotofit.• Thereneedstobebetteruseofcodeinschoollevelpolicy-orexamplesofexpectedbehaviour-many
principalsandteachersIhaveworkedwitharetotallyunawareofthecodeanditsexpectations.• Ithinkmoreisneededbutnotnecessarilyintheseoverarchingstatement-thescenariosandadditional
guidelinesprovidemuchoftheadditionalguidancethatisneededandperhapstherejustneedstobemoreexplicitpointerstosomeofthis"second-tier"material.
• Thereperhapsneedstobe"guidancedocuments"developedthatoutlineawiderangeofscenariosanddiscusstheseinanethicalsenseforteacherstohaveexemplarsofwhatthestatementsmeaninarangeofcontexts.
Q3:ThefinalscenariooutlinedasituationwhereoneteacheratanECEcetnrewaswithholdingfoodfromatoddleruntiltheyusedthetoiletproperly,whileanotherteacherraisesconcernsandquestionstheapproach.Theoriginalteacherexplainsthatthisiswhatthechild’sparentsaskedthemtodo.Thescenarioraisedanumberofpracticeissuesandparticipantswereaskedtoindicatewhatguidanceshouldbeprovided,andwhere,forthesesortsofissues.Responseswereasfollows:(Note:peoplecouldselectmultipleresponses)TYPEOFGUIDANCE WHEREITSHOULDBEPROVIDED
IntheCode InSchool/ECECentrepolicies
Inspecificpracticeregulations
Inlegisation(ieVulnerableChildrensAct)
High-levelprinciplesandcommitmentsforhowweshouldtreatlearners,theirfamiliesandotherteachers
73% 66% 59% 48%
Clearstatementsaboutinappropriatebehaviours&practices(witholdingfood,isolationetc)
30% 79% 66% 37%
Clearpoliciesanddirectionforaddressingspecificissuesandchallengesamonglearners(toileting,aggressivebehaviouretc)
24% 87% 57% 24%
Theseresultsandthesupportingcommentspresentastrongviewthatthecodeneedstoprovidetheoverallguidingprinciplesbutthatmorespecificsituationsandbehavioursandbestaddressedinlocalpolicy,withfurthergeneralsupportfromtherelevantlegislativeandregulatoryenvironment.• Acodeisanoverarchingguideforprofessionalinteraction…anylistwouldalwaysomitsomethingsand
couldnotfitallscenarioes...itistheunpackingoftheoverarchingstatementsthatprovidessomeofthemostpowerfulpersonalgrowth
• Ifweasasectordeemitwrongtowithholdfoodinordertogaincompliance,thenweshouldeducateourfamilies.Itisaboutgettingourparentstoseethenegativelearningthatcanarisefromsuchasituation.
• Ingeneral,thecodeshouldhavemoreover-archingprinciplesandguidelinesforinterpretationtoavoidcomplexcaseswherethecodeistoonarrowtoapplyeffectively.Somespecific,usuallyextreme,examples(suchasphysicalpunishment/assault)shouldbespecificallycoveredinlawand/orthecode.
• Ilikethepresentcodeandliketheroleofthecouncilinspellingoutanethicalframework(autonomy,justiceetcasoverarchingeducationalprinciples)ratherthandetailedpracticalpolicy.Practicalpolicyissuesareconstantlybeingrefinedatalocallevelwithinschools.
Q4:Finally,weinvitedfeedbackonthewayweareengagingwiththesectorthroughthedevelopmentofthecode–includingwhat’sworkingwellsofarandalsowhatelsewecoulddotomakeiteasiertocontribute.Theresponsesincludedalotofverypositivefeedbackabouttheopenandinclusiveapproachwearetryingtotake,aswellasverypositivecommentsabouttheuseofsurveysasasimple,brief,andeasytousewayofprovidingregularfeedback.
Inadditiontothepositivefeedback,anumberofparticipantsraisedconcernsaboutthenumberofteacherswhoarenotparticipatingintheseprocessesandwhetherwewereengagingotherkeystakeholders,suchasparents.Thesecommentsalsoincludedanumberofveryusefulsuggestionsforincreasingawarenessoftheseopportunitiesforteachersandotherstoengageinensuretheirvoiceisheard.Wearelookingathowwemighttakethesesuggestionsonboardaswecontinuethisprocess.Finally,asmallnumberofpeopleremaincynicalabouttheEducationCouncilgenerallyandexpressedthatopenly,whichwe’vereflectedbelow.Wewanttoacknowledgetheseopinionsaswell,andhopethatwecancontinuetobuildtrustandconfidencewithsomeofourcriticsovertime.Asummaryofrepresentativever-batimquotesreflectingeachofthesekeythemesisincludedinanappendixattheendofthisdocument.NEXTSTEPSAsindicatedearlier,ourintentionistorunanongoingseriesofsurveysandkeeptestingourthinkingandprogressateachstageofdevelopment.Wewillrunonemoresurveythiscalendaryear–exploringsomeofthevaluesbehindthecodeaswellasgivingsomethoughttoitspotentialasanaspirationalandinspiringreferencepointfortheteachingprofession.Wewanttorespectthebusynessandpressurethatoftengoeswiththeclosingmonthsoftheyearforteachers,soduringthistimewewillrevisitallthefeedbackandsuggestionsyouhaveprovidedanddrawontheseaswebegintoframeupadraftstructureandsomeinitialsuggestionsforthecontentofthenewcode.Weplantotestthoseinitialthoughtswithyouagainatthestartof2017andthencontinueouriterativeapproachoftestingandadjustingthecontentandstructuretowardsfinalisingthedocumentbyJulynextyear.Intheinterim,wewillcontinuetoworkcloselywiththeCodeWorkingGroupaswereviewthefeedbackandbegintodevelopaninitialstructureandsomedraftcontenttogether.Theworkinggroupismadeupofrepresentativesfromeveryaspectoftheprofession,includingearlychildhood,primaryandsecondaryschooling,MāoriMedium,thePasifikaPrincipal’sAssociationandothers.(YoucanlearnmoreaboutCodeWorkingGrouprepresentativesontheEducationCouncilwebsitehere).Wealsoneedtoconsiderthemostappropriatetitleforitandwillbeseekingyourinputonthataswell.Hopefullythatanswersanyquestionsregardingtheremainingprocessandoveralltimeframes.Wewillalsogivesomethoughttotheotherkeyissuesraisedinthefeedbackhere(suchasengagingwithparentsandothernon-teachingstakeholders)andletyouknowhowtheywillbeincorporatedintoourapproach.Thankyouonceagainfortakingthetimeandbeingsoopenandcandidinyourfeedbackandresponses.Thefinalproductwillbedirectlyinfluencedbyyourinput.Welookforwardtocontinuethedialogueprocesstogether.
APPENDIXONE:ADDITIONALVERBATIMQUOTESWe’veprovidedaselectionofcommentsandquotesfromtheresponsesundereachofthethemesthatreflecttheykeypointsthatweremaderegardingtheapproachthatisbeingtakentoengagewiththeprofessioninthisprocess.Positivefeedbackabouttheopportunitytoengageandtheuseofongoing,briefsurveys:• Thelevelofconsultationissuperb.It'shardtoimaginehowmucheasieritcouldhavebeenmade.• It'seasytocontributeas&whentimeallows.• Iappreciatetheopenandinclusiveapproachyouhavetaken,enablingeducatorstohaveasaythroughthe
ongoingsurveys.Ialsoreallyappreciatedthebreakdownoftheresultsfromthelastsurvey.• IampleasedthatthecodeisbeinglookedatbutI'mmorepleasedthatteachervoiceisbeingconsidered.
Notonlythatbutteachersfromawiderangeofbackgroundsandareas.• Short,regular,focusedsurveyssuchasthisonewouldmakemewanttocontributeagain.• Thiswasagoodclearsurvey.Plentyofdepthofthinkingbutquickandeasytocomplete.Thanks!• Itwasgoodtogetanopportunitytocontributethisway.Itmakesthecodealivingdocumentwhenitis
reviewed/discussed.• Itcanbedoneinmyowntime.Italsoisthoughprovokingandhasgivenmyteamsomesolutionstoissues
thatmayariseinourcentre.• Ilikethefactthatyouareconsultingandthatfinallywearegettingtothenutsandboltsandnotjust
nebulousaspirationallanguage.• It'sgreattoseeyouaskingsomeofthe'hard'questionsthatareoftennotspokenaboutoraddressed.This
willhelpopenuptheseoftennotspokenabouttopicsforstaffroomdiscussions.• Iappreciatebeingabletosharemythoughts,andthatthesurveysarenottoolong.Ialsolikethewayyou
havesummarisedthefirstlotofconsultation,itshowsthatourthoughtsandideashavebeentakenonboard,andarerespected.I
• AsacriticandskepticwhenthecouncilwasfirstformedI'mheartenedbythemeasureofindependenceandcommonsensethatisemerginginpolicystatementsandthisprocess.Wejustmayendupwithsomethingthatisgenuinelyusefulandpositivefortheprofession.
• Ithasalsohighlightedtheneedtocreateamorerobustcodeofethics.
Concernsaboutthosewhoaren’tengagingintheprocess:• Howhaveyouenabledparents/widerwhanautohaveavoice(Ionlyfoundoutaboutitthroughthe
Highlighter'snewsletteranddonotexpectmanyparentstoreceivethis)?• Iamconcernedthatlessthan1000responseswerereceivedfromtheentireteachingprofession.Icame
acrossthelinktothissurveybychangewhenIscannedthrough"TheHighlighter".Ifyoudon'tsubscribetothisyouprobablydon'tknowaboutthisprocess.IfitwassupportedbyPrincipals,completionofthesurveycouldbedoneinstaffmeetings.
• Maybeyouhaveanoverview/processforhowyouwanttodevelopthecodeinstages,yousaidyouwantedtotakethetimetodothis,couldyousharethiswithusoratleastthekeypointsandanapproximatetimeframe?
• ThisisthefirstIhavebeenawareofit-henceIthinkmorepublicityisneeded.• Veryinclusiveifyouknowaboutit...aretherelinksthrougharangeofnetworkstobringteachershere?• Youhaveadoptedagoodprocess.MyonlyconcernisthatIamnotcertainthatthefocusgroupsareacrossa
broadenoughrangeofareas-e.g.cityvsrural;differenttypesofschoolsandECE's;experiencedvsyoungteachers.
• Ithasbeenwonderfultohavetheopportunitytobepartofthesesurveys.Ithoughtitwasdisappointingonly900oddresponses.Thisisaconcernforusasprofessionals....apathy?
GeneralcynicismregardingtheEducationCouncil:• Aswithmostsurveys,thequestionsseemslantedtogainarequiredoutcome.• Pleaseconsultpractitionersthatarenotgovernmentappointees,inparticular,thenationalprofessional
bodiesthatrepresentteachersandpromotetheprofession'sbestpractises.• Ithinkthefocusaimandintentisallcrazywearebeingdestroyedbytheministerandministryandyou
fiddleoverfaddleandpiddle…• Letpeopleknowaboutthesurveys,askpeopleotherthanyourfriends,constructsurveysthatlookfor
people'sviewsnotoneswithonlyresponsesacceptabletoyou.• Thesurveyfeltmorelikeanonlineinterrogationthanasimplesurvey.Thequestions,scenariosandanswers
showabiastowardsadesiredoutcome.
• Youarenotreallycoconstructing-buttellingusstill• TheECandTCreallyhavenoideawhatgoesoninclassrooms:studentbehaviourandengagementarethe
mainissue,notteacherconduct!• Processsofar:adequatewithopportunityforcomment.Thereisnobeliefthatitwillmakeadifference.
Consultationseldommeanschangewhenanorganisationhasanagenda.Trustiscontinuouslybeingerodedyetwecarryoninhope.
Specificideasandsuggestionsforengagingagreaternumberofpeopleintheprocess:• Mailinglist?• Ifoundthissurveyonsocialmediaviaafriend.FacebookandTwitterreminders• Ifindteachersskimreademailsandoftendon’tpickupthatsurveysorfeedbackisrequested-notsurehow
toovercomethis-butlotsofcoverageviadifferentavenuesmayassist• HavemoreconversationsaroundourCodeofEthicsandcometoacommongroundofagreement.Maybe
thiscouldbeagreatworkshopatthenextNZEITERIUROA.• Whereistereo,professionalism,supportbullyingcyberbullyingetc-idosupportyoureffortsbut…geton
withit!• Directcontactwithincentres.Beingsentletters,emailsaskingforcontribution.• Togetarandomselectionfromacrossthesectorandcountrythereshouldbeanumberofsurveyresponses
fromeachschool/learningcentre.Couldbesentbymailorlinkstoadmintopassontostaff.• Tomethequestionsarereallynegative.Istherenothingpositiveaboutthecodeofethics?Tomeitshould
beadocumenttobeproudofandonethatguidesmetobethebestteacherIcanbe.Morepositivescenariosareneeded.Theyneedtobeourguideaswell.
• Usingdifferentwaysofcommunication,eitherpost,text,emailorphonecall.• Thecodeshouldbeguidephrasedinpositivelanguage,andshouldnotincludeexamplesofbehaviour.The
approachyouaretakingwillonlybemeaningfulifyouuseittocreateaCodethatupliftsandcelebratesthestatusoftheprofession,ratherthandemeaningitbecreatingaprescriptivelistofbehaviours.
• Istherealinkwecancopyandpastetosocialmediaforcolleaguesinothersectors,sothattheycanaccessthissurveyeasily?IwonderhowmanyteachersactuallymaketimetoreadTheHighlighter.
• ItwouldbegoodtohavetheopportunitytotakepartinfocusgroupsbutIamnotsurehowtoaccesstheseorhowtobecomepartofthem.Ithinkitisreallyimportantthatthecodeconsistsofbroadstatementsandthatthedetailisuptoschoolsandothereducationalsettings.
• Pleaseensuretheprovincesareincludedinfocusgroups.Consultationisnotaboutfillingin'surveymonkey'.• Onewaytomakethis'real'wouldbetoadvertiseitattheworkplace-atschool.Throughprincipalsorflyers.
Thehighlighterisgood,butIworryit'sdisconnectedwiththeworkplace.• Yourexamplesareveryextreme.Theseareclearlyinneedofpolicy.Amoreambiguouscasewouldbemore
usefultodeterminetheinterpretationofinterestedparties.• Sendouttoschoolsthesurvey-maybeasadiscussionstarterinaDept/staffmeetingbuttimeisvaluable.
Thanksagaintoeveryonewhotookthetimetosharetheirideas,thoughts,feedbackandsuggestionswithus.Wearetakingthisonboardasweprepareforthenextstepsintheprocess.
