Ethics Continued...

After receiving a comment on my blog from Adesola, I am now looking into ethics within my inquiry. I have used this blog to put all the research I have come across in one place. The blog is a bit mismatched and I do jump from topic to topic, but this is all helping to develop my understanding of ethics and to build my inquiry. 

After reading through the Handbook again and from my personal research, I am questioning whether to interview students for my inquiry as I would need a lot of permission to gather my data from students within my professional practice. 

 But if I do not, would this hinder my outcome?  I am trying to find out what makes a 'good' teacher and if I can not ask the students who are being taught, am I getting valid data? I am specifically focusing on Primary School children so I have to abide by the data protection act http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2004/03/19102/34616 

Also if I was to interview the children I would have to take special measures and make sure another adult was present perhaps? Or I could use a survey format for the children and have the Head teacher and my management check it over before it goes out. I also would need the parents/gaurdians permission to collect the data. 

 Maybe I should ask my family and friends children and not collect my under 18 years data within my professional practice. Any advice would be great, do you know the rules and regulations around this ? 

I am also considering observing teachers and the students reactions to different teacher and documenting the data I find, this would be from my point of view of how I see the students react. Would this be fair? 

Ethical issues within my Inquiry 

  Kevin Carter the  photographer of this photo above was criticised about not helping the girl to survive. However, ' There have been many arguments that Carter's lack of intervention on the girls behalf was fully justified. Before leaving the assignment he and the other photographers were instructed not to touch anyone for the fear of epidemics. Furthermore, the ethical role and duty of a photographer is to observe and not interfere.' Reader 5 P.11 When do you cross the line of ethical into moral when it comes to human life? Personally I believe human life comes first and I would like to believe if I was in Kevin Carter's position I would of behaved differently. But can I find something like this in the teaching practise ? When would it be ok for teachers to cross the line for a human life, perhaps for a child in their class. Would they be classed as a 'good' teacher? Or is a teacher there to simple teach the children should a teacher interfere? Have teachers interfered? In my professional practise I have come across issues where I have had to ask management what I am allowed to do in certain situations. 

•   Year 1 boy can not do up his trousers after a PE lesson- Can I help ? 

•   A child is about to perform a movement that where he/she could injure themselves- Can

I pick them up to stop them from hurting themselves ? 

•   A student has bumped their head - Where do they go ? Do I need to fill out a form? 

•   Student hugs you- Do you hug them back? Or put your arms up in the air

•   A child is distressed and upset and wants to be held or sit on you lap- What do I do ?

•   A child's behaviour is aggressive and he/she is punching/scratching me- What do I do ? 

I found the answers of how to deal with these situations from many different sources

-Companies Handbook

-The Schools code of conduct handbook

-Companies Contract

-Headteachers

-Health and Safety Guidelines 

 I am always cautions when working with children and always hold a professional relationship with them, but as a teacher I feel you still need to come across approachable and kind. It is hard to get the balance and often I go against my human instinct to pick them up when they are crying or give them a big hug when they are sad. But I am there to teach and care for them but not to have physical contact unless they are in danger themselves. This topic interests me and would be beneficial for my inquiry because does this make you a 'good' teacher to have this knowledge of what you can and can't do. Does this make you a better teacher ?

'There's a growing panic among childcare professionals about touching young children in their care which, says a group of academics at Manchester Metropolitan University's Institute of Education, is causing concern and uncertainty about what's OK and what's not when it comes to innocent physical contact with youngsters. 

In research they are planning to publish later this year, academics Heather Piper, John Powell and Hannah Smith describe how some child carers are reluctant even to put a plaster on a child's scraped knee. Very young children have to treat their injuries themselves - with the nursery worker or teacher giving instructions on how to open the box, take out a plaster and stick it on. If a child's parent is nearby, he or she is summoned to deal with the injury. 

Piper describes it as a crazy situation. "Many people are behaving in completely ludicrous ways. What is cast into doubt is the process of normal nurturing - the way adults are with children." Comforting a child when they're upset, putting a plaster on them, changing their wet pants - all these everyday ways in which adults care for young children are now seen as suspect.' https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/feb/09/schools.uk

Other sources that touch on this topic 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11459805- School NO touch rules 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8770736/Teacher-banned-for-letting-pupils-hug-him.html - Being a male Primary school teacher 

https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120421040351AASDrOJ - Thoughts on whether you should or shouldn't hug children 

 Below is some more research into ethical issues within education 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ethical-issues-in-education.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/06/04/the-hard-ethical-challenges-that-confront-teachers-today/

http://www.slideshare.net/amirtharajmarie/ethical-issues-in-education

http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-4/moral.htm

Below is an extra from this article above about teachers moral obligations in the teaching profession. 

A teacher's first moral obligation is to provide excellent instruction. Teachers with a high level of moral professionalism have a deep obligation to help students learn. According to Wynne (1995), teachers with that sense of obligation demonstrate their moral professionalism by:

* coming to work regularly and on time;

* being well informed about their student-matter;

* planning and conducting classes with care;

* regularly reviewing and updating instructional practices;

* cooperating with, or if necessary, confronting parents of underachieving students;

* cooperating with colleagues and observing school policies so the whole institution works effectively;

* tactfully, bur firmly criticizing unsatisfactory school policies and proposing constructive improvement.

 Each component is clearly defined, and educational goals, teaching strategies and assessment methods can be derived from those definitions. The components are:

1) Moral sensitivity, the awareness of how our actions affect other people. It involved being aware of the different lines of action and how each line of action affects the parties concerned. It involves knowing cause-consequent chains of events in the real world, and empathy and role-taking abilities.

2) Moral judgment is based on the work of Piaget (1965) and Kohlberg (1984) and involved intuitions about what is fair and moral. It requires adults to make moral judgments about complex human activities.

3) Moral motivation requires a prioritization of moral values over personal values, particularly in professional settings, and,
4) Moral character requires individuals to act on their moral convictions.http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-4/moral.htm

I feel I have gone a bit off task with this blog. However, I am not going to delete it as it is a part of my learning process. I am going to gather my thoughts in a list format and come back with another blog shortly.