What are the ethical responsibilities of education institutions and professionals towards the lifelong learning needs of all people? And how do we reconcile the conflict to share resources or profit from them?
A shouting match ensues between your colleague and another student during a lesson. Your colleague's rage begins to escalate, and he or she embarrasses that student in front of the entire class. You are a co-teacher in this class who is currently witnessing the matter as it unfolds. The question is, what would you do? Would you get involved and try to ethically deescalate the situation? Or would you let the teacher resolve that situation on their own using their own strategy out of respect or fear for that teacher?
Educators and educational organizations often encounter ethical dilemmas like these. When such dilemmas arise, it is imperative that ethical decisions are made to resolve the issue or deal with the dilemma. To facilitate this ethical decision-making process, professionals are guided by ethical principles and codes of conduct. The National Education Association (NEA) created ethical guidelines to help educators adhere to and maintain high ethical standards.
The ethical responsibilities and guidelines of educators as published by NEA (2020) are as follows:
Commitment to the Student
“The educator--
1. Shall not unreasonably restrain the student from independent action in the pursuit of learning.
2. Shall not unreasonably deny the student's access to varying points of view.
3. Shall not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter relevant to the student's progress.
4. Shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning or to health and safety.
5. Shall not intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement.
6. Shall not on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, marital status, political or religious beliefs, family, social or cultural background, or sexual orientation, unfairly--
Exclude any student from participation in any program
Deny benefits to any student
Grant any advantage to any student
7. Shall not use professional relationships with students for private advantage.
8. Shall not disclose information about students obtained in the course of professional service unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by law”(NEA, 2020).
“Commitment to the Profession
Do not make false statements in application of a position
Do not misrepresent qualifications
Do not assist someone unqualified gain entry into the profession
Do not make false statements concerning a candidate’s qualifications
Do not assist a noneducator in the unauthorized practice of teaching
Do not disclose personal information about a colleague unless required by law
Do not knowingly make false statements about a colleague
Do not accept any gift or favor that might influence professional decisions” (NEA, 2020, as cited in Burrell, 2021).
Undoubtedly, these guidelines can help educators and institutions reconcile various conflicts that may arise. In reference to the dilemma previously mentioned, the question was asked: what would you do?? Well, as an educator, you can refer to NEAs ethical guideline which clearly states that you "Shall not intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement" (NEA, 2020).
So, the next time you witness your colleague embarrassing a student in front of the class then you may want to consider jumping in and ethically resolving the matter in the best way possible.
As it pertains to the resolution of profit-sharing conflict, such matters can be resolved with the help of other professionals like an arbitrator or legal counsel can be sought depending on the situation.
Consider the World Bank Report, and the WTO GATS. Use this conference topic to describe ways in which you or your institution has responded to needs identified in another country. What were these activities and the sources of funding for these activities? Do you think the funding source influenced the program or activity? If so, how?
In a general sense, online institutions like UMGC and other educational institutions help address the learning needs of students worldwide. A student can be in a different country and be able to get their learning needs met by that institution. Regarding financial support, sources of funding may vary in that some online intuitions may receive financial support from governing bodies while others receive funds from private sector agencies etc. The source of these funds can have direct or indirect influences on a particular program. Precisely, the source may want to ensure that the program delivered is of high quality and that learners are achieving success and meeting program outcomes. Consequently, the program’s enrollment rates may be positively affected. Also, there’s a saying “money talks”. Receiving funds from particular sources may place pressure and demands on the institution to deliver positive results.
Costs and economics determine how much is available in any given context for spending on education. Who shares this finite resource with us? How can we optimize our investment while recognizing the interdependent networks we belong to?
Finally, the expenditure of education might just boil down to how much the government, organizations, or individuals are willing to pay for education services. These resources can be obtained from various sources like banks or any other source that can afford to pay or subsidize it.
Our investment can be optimized in various ways. Its optimization will depend on individual factors. Needless to say, the effective use of my investment will be evident in the positive impact that I will have on the lives of my students or people I come into contact with throughout my career life. Such positive returns will be an indication to me that my investment in my education was worth it.
That’s it for this discussion! I look forward to receiving your feedback!
Krista
MDE student
University of Maryland Global Campus
University of Maryland Global Campus | UMGC
References
Nea. (2020). Code of Ethics for Educators. NEA. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/code-ethics-educators
Burrell, T. (2021). What does it mean to be an ethical teacher? Social Sci LibreTexts. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Education_and_Professional_Development/Foundations_of_Education_and_Instructional_Assessment_(Kidd_et_al.)/12%253A_Ethics_and_Law/12.04%253A_What_does_it_mean_to_be_an_ethical_teacher