Topic 3: College of Education Ethics Quiz

Multiple Choice

1. Ethics can be defined as

a. Someone’s opinion of another person’s behavior
b. Laws and policies that govern behavior
c. Moral principles that govern a person’s behavior
d. Guidelines to ensure successful behavior

I choice C because I live my life based on the morals that I have and the values I was installed in
me.

2. Which of the following is not a principle of ethical leadership?

a. Personal courage
b. Self-interest
c. Sensitivity and understanding
d. Inclusiveness

Self-interest is not a principle of ethical leadership because, as a leader, we have to put others
first. Our job is to make others better, and we cannot do that by looking out for our self-interest.

3. Who should be the priority in decision-making for a school leader?

a. Parents
b. Staff
c. Superintendent
d. Students

I picked the students because, in my view, every decision we make needs to be in the best
interest of the students. We want the best for students, so we have to make choices based on what
is best for our students.

4. To whom must a school administrator report information related to possible

unprofessional conduct involving a student?
a. District Office
b. State Board of Education
c. Local police
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

Based on the question, I choose none of the above because unprofessional conduct is vague. It
doesn’t tell us much. There is conduct that must be reported to one or all three, but that would be
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particular events that bring harm to others. Unprofessional conduct could be cheating on a test,
and that would not need to be reported to any of the three mentioned groups.

5. What is a possible consequence for failing to investigate a report of unprofessional

conduct by a school employee?
a. Warning by the human resources department
b. No consequences
c. Loss of administrative credential
d. An angry parent

Based on the lack of information in the question lead to my answer. I feel that having an angry
parent would not be uncommon if you didn’t investigate, especially if involved in their child. It
depends on what the school employee did on what result if you didn’t report could investigate. If
it is serious misconduct and you don’t investigate, you can lose your credentials. Depending on
what the offense is, if you didn’t investigate, you might get a warning from HR, or nothing could
happen.

6. What state-level entity receives reports of unprofessional conduct and conducts an

investigation?
a. Attorney General
b. Governor’s office
c. State Board of Education
d. Department of Education

In Arizona, teacher misconduct is reported to the Arizona Department of Education. You can go
check to see if teachers have reports of misconduct at azed.gov. Again depending on the conduct,
it can be reported to the state attorney general.

7. Who is required to follow the mandatory reporting rules related to unprofessional

conduct?
a. Teachers
b. Administrators
c. Parents
d. All certificated school employees
e. All school employees

It is the role of all school employees to report conduct that they see as unprofessional no matter
who the person is or what position they have.

8. Which of the following is the most serious ethical violation for an educator?
a. Sharing test preparation materials you created
b. Dating a fellow teacher
c. Taking a sick day when you are not ill
d. Letting your opinion of a student affect their grades

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If you let your feelings about a student affect how you grade them, you put your integrity as a
teacher and the integrity of the school at stake.

9. Students are impacted by ethics in which of the following ways:

a. Grading practices
b. Student council elections
c. Student discipline practices
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

All the answers have an impact on student’s ethics. With grading, students need to understand
how they are being graded, so all students are graded the same. Elections need to be held in a fair
and equal manner. Discipline, to me, is the most important. An educational leader must have the
same discipline for every student, no matter who they are.

10. How are school policies related to ethics?

a. Policies dictate all ethical decisions
b. Policies describe ethics
c. Policies provide guidance for some ethical decisions
d. There is no relationship between policies and ethics

School policies tell students and staff what behaviors are acceptable and how they should act.

Short Answer: In 50 – 100 words, respond to the following statements. Be sure to use
appropriate sentence mechanics.

1. Describe one way a school administrator could take preventive action to avoid a staff
member committing unprofessional conduct.

ANSWER: To me, the best way to avoid staff unprofessional conduct is to lead by
example. You have to be honest and upfront with your staff. By keeping everyone
involved informed of decisions that are being made and explain to them why the
decisions are made, you are honest. Leading by example also means that you need to
follow and enforce the policies of the district. It also means that you have to hold
everyone to the same high standards you hold yourself to.

2. Describe the relationship between integrity and ethics.

ANSWER: To me, ethics and integrity go hand and hand. Ethics are the values that
guide your life, and integrity is the actions you demonstrate in front of others. Honesty is
the ethical principle I have, but when telling someone the truth, even though it might not
be what the person wants to her is integrity.

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 3. How would you briefly outline your definition of professionalism to your faculty?
Provide at least three examples to illustrate your definition.

ANSWER: I would define my definition of professionalism to my faculty as someone

who shows honesty, consistency, and shows respect to all. When I say honestly, I want
staff that will tell the truth to the students, parents, and me. If you make a mistake, admit
it, and own the mistake. To me, that is an example of being honest. To me, consistency is
essential. Teachers start to have problems when they are not consistent. You can’t let
students eat in your room one day and then yell at them for eating the next. You can’t
punish one student for doing something, yet not punish another student for doing the
same, or give them a different punishment. Lastly, you have to show respect to students,
parents, and staff. Tone way to show respect is by appropriately talking to them. Do not
talk down to someone. Be able to explain your point in a way that they can understand
and is professional.

4. Describe how a teacher might violate professional ethics in facilitating state-mandated

testing. What happens to a teacher who would be caught violating testing procedures?

ANSWER: A teacher may violate facilitating testing in different ways, and the
punishment should depend on the severity of the violation. A violation may be a simple
as going off script, answering a question the student ask that they are not supposed to, tell
a student they should take another look at a particular question. A teacher with these
violations should be warned and reminded of what the proper producers are. Significant
issues are maybe discussing the test with students or other staff, looking at test questions
even though it is not allowed. Teachers who violate these policies should be talked to,
and possible disciplinary action should take place. Most serve violations are when
teachers give answers to students or change student's answers. These violations must be
reported to the local board, and the state board and disciplinary action should follow state
and district guidelines. The teacher would never protector another test again.

5. Which of the following areas of ethics might be the most complex for an educational
leader: staff relationships, procurement, student achievement, or community relations.
Explain your answer.

ANSWER: I think that community relations are complex ethically. I see this as most
complex because of privacy laws information is challenging to share. Primarily the
concern when dealing with disciplinary action involving multiple children. When you
talk to a community member, you have to be careful not to share certain information
about students and staff. Other ethical concerns arise when the community wants to
donate materials or money to school. There is always the concern that community
members may expect something in return.

Scenarios

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Respond to each of the following scenarios in a well-crafted paragraph of 100-150 words using
appropriate sentence mechanics.

Scenario 1:
A parent reports that his daughter, a student at your school, has exchanged more than a dozen
personal emails over the last two months with her social studies teacher who is using his school-
issued computer. The latest email included an invitation for the student to have lunch with the
teacher on a Saturday. The parent is very concerned that an inappropriate relationship between
his daughter and the teacher is forming or has formed. What actions will you take based on this
report?

The first thing that needs to be known is what the age of the student is. While no relationship
between a student and teacher is appropriate, age plays a factor in how it should be handled. If
the girl is under 18, then we could have a criminal offense. I would have the parents call local
law enforcement and have them report what they have discovered in the e-mails. I would notify
the superintendent, so they are aware of the situation and keep his advice on what I am doing.
Because the teacher used school property, I would have the IT department pull the e-mails that
were sent. If the student is under the age of 18, I would cooperate with law enforcement and let
them lead the investigation. I am not sure if I would talk to the teacher privately about the matter.
I would do what the law enforcement and the superintendent tell me to do. The reason is I would
not want the teacher to get rid of evidence if something is going on, but I want to support my
teacher if they are innocent. If the student is 18 or older, I would have a conversation with the
teacher, reminding them of the ethical issues related to having any relationship with students
outside of school. Either way, in a staff meeting, I would tell all staff about ethical behavior and
contact with students outside of school settings.
Scenario 2:
A salesperson from the company that provides your school’s copy paper invites you to join a
group that is going to spend Spring Break in Mexico, all expenses paid. You have vacation time
and are not required to report to work during Spring Break. Will you go on this trip? Why or why
not?

I would not go on the trip. As a leader, we have to be very careful about taking gifts from
anybody. Taking this trip is a conflict of interest because, as a principal, you may influence what
the company provides paper for the school. The implications of taking this trip that the company
may want you to use your influence in getting them more contracts. As leaders, we cannot have
any perception that gifts can influence our decisions.

Scenario 3:
A parent who frequently volunteers at your high school is asking you to give her sophomore
student a parking pass, even though sophomores are prohibited by school policy from receiving a
parking pass. What will you tell the parent and what will you do next?

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I would thank them for all that they do for the school and tell them how valuable their support is,
but I would remind the parent that the school policy states that sophomores are not allowed to
have parking passes, and therefore I cannot make issue their child a pass. I would explain to the
part why we have the policy. I would also tell the parent if we made an exception for their child,
we would have to do it for every child. I can look into changing policy, but it will properly not
help their child.

Scenario 4:
You are addressing the group of first year teachers at your school on their first day of
employment. Some of these teachers graduated from a traditional teacher preparation program,
while others did not. What would you tell them about ethics, as it applies to their job as a teacher,
so that all levels of experience and professional backgrounds are considered?

The first thing I would tell my new teachers is ethics in teaching is doing what’s best to do
what’s right and treat others the way they would want to be treated. The best way to do what is
best and right is to let the school and district policies guide your decisions. Policies are put in
place to help guide them with issues they may not be used to. It is essential, to be honest with the
students and parents. When you are honest and upfront and follow producers with parents and
students, it will limit the issues that you will have. It is also essential to be consistent with your
actions. When in doubt about a problem, don’t be afraid to ask before they act.

Scenario 5:
You have been asked by a parent to review the final semester grade of a student in Algebra 1.
Dad believes that his son should have gotten an A, even though he was three points from the
minimum number of points needed for an A. You know the student and believes that he works
hard in his classes. What should you consider in reviewing the grade? What would you decide?

I believe that the student worked hard, and it is rough that they missed an A by only three points,
but there must be a legitimate reason for the grade. I would encourage the parent to talk with the
teacher so they can explain the grade. I will let the parent know that I can review to make sure
the teacher followed the district grading policy and that the grades appropriately calculated, but I
cannot make any changes to grades. Teachers are the only ones that can make adjustments to
grades. I would never ask or tell a teacher to adjust grades. I would meet with the teacher to
inform them I spoke with the parent, and they will be meeting with them. I would also want them
to explain who the student received the grade that they did. I will back the teacher and their
grade as long as it matches the school's grading policies.

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