Professionalism and Ethics
Professionalism encompasses the willingness to enrich a teachers own professional development, attitude, beliefs and skills to benefit the children they teach on a daily basis and the ability to change and develop skills, as needed, to cater for the ever changing needs of students in the future (Marsh, 2008, p. 292).
To be professional, teachers must firstly have a genuine interest in their students, their welfare and their learning and be committed to providing the best possible learning environment and education opportunities. Teachers need to possess attributes such as empathy, consideration, loyalty, respect and sensitivity toward students, parents and colleagues. Teachers need to be committed to life-long learning and embrace further learning and development to expand their knowledge and understanding. Teachers in the 21st century will have added pressures to integrate ICT (Information and Communication Techology) into the curriculum and the classroom, and will need to ensure that they continually work on developing these skills to be able to effectively teach them in the classroom. With the increased use of social media and computers to communicate, teachers need to make sure they are technology literate and know the risks and benefits involved.
A teacher is expected to have high ethical standards and conduct themselves professionally. In meeting professional standards teachers must always be mindful of the appropriate code of ethics, but in some situations they may have to draw on their own personal moral and ethical standards as a guide when making decisions (Whitton, Sinclair, Barker, Nanlohy, & Nosworthy, as cited in Hurst, 2009, p. 47).
Reflective practice is essential to improve on teaching skills and strategies by reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses. A teacher should be self-critical of outcomes and expectations and seek feedback from students and peers to provide opportunities to improve. When a teacher is positive and confident in their abilities and self-motivated enough to be open to opportunities for improvement this will encourage growth through reflective practices (Marsh, 2008, p. 7).
To be professional, teachers must firstly have a genuine interest in their students, their welfare and their learning and be committed to providing the best possible learning environment and education opportunities. Teachers need to possess attributes such as empathy, consideration, loyalty, respect and sensitivity toward students, parents and colleagues. Teachers need to be committed to life-long learning and embrace further learning and development to expand their knowledge and understanding. Teachers in the 21st century will have added pressures to integrate ICT (Information and Communication Techology) into the curriculum and the classroom, and will need to ensure that they continually work on developing these skills to be able to effectively teach them in the classroom. With the increased use of social media and computers to communicate, teachers need to make sure they are technology literate and know the risks and benefits involved.
A teacher is expected to have high ethical standards and conduct themselves professionally. In meeting professional standards teachers must always be mindful of the appropriate code of ethics, but in some situations they may have to draw on their own personal moral and ethical standards as a guide when making decisions (Whitton, Sinclair, Barker, Nanlohy, & Nosworthy, as cited in Hurst, 2009, p. 47).
Reflective practice is essential to improve on teaching skills and strategies by reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses. A teacher should be self-critical of outcomes and expectations and seek feedback from students and peers to provide opportunities to improve. When a teacher is positive and confident in their abilities and self-motivated enough to be open to opportunities for improvement this will encourage growth through reflective practices (Marsh, 2008, p. 7).
All of the top achievers I know are life-long learners. Looking for new skills, insights, and ideas. If they’re not learning, they’re not growing and not moving toward excellence.
Denis Waitley
Denis Waitley