MODULE TITLE: Professional Studies

Current Trends in Education: Tutorial Paper 1

Jake Byrne

Submitted for the Award of

Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Education
(Design Graphics and Construction)
to
Atlantic Technological University

Supervisors: Pauline Logue & Kevin Maye

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Student Name & Number:
Programme: BSc. (Hons) in Education (Design Graphics and
Construction)
Year: 4
Module: Professional Studies
Module Leader: Kevin Maye
Assignment Title: Tutorial Papers
Submission Date: 28 April 2023

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Current Trends in Education: Tutorial Paper 1

Leader: Kevin Maye

Student Name

Jake Byrne

Tutorial Paper Number 1

Tutorial paper 1

Reading Article Reference

Professional Code of Conduct

Article Summary
The Code of Professional Conduct was long advocated for by educators across the country, being
established in 2006 in line with a growing global view on professional standards. Its dual mandate
supports the holistic and sustainable growth of both the teacher and learner through their time in
education. Operating under the premise that advocacy and regulation are interdependent, the codes
lay out the standards expected of all educators in all stages of their career.
The focus of the code is to be a guiding compass for ethical and respectful teaching while
maintaining the dignity and honour of the profession. It sets the standards expected of all teachers
and guides the Council in any investigative/disciplinary actions in may need to undertake.
The code is structured to first lay the ethical foundation of teaching through four core values:
Respect, Care, Integrity, Trust. It then frames the professional responsibility of teachers under six
headings: Values and Relationships, Integrity, Conduct, Practice, Professional development,
Collegiality and Collaboration.
The code envisions the teacher as a reflective practitioner who is constantly learning and growing
as an educator and supports student teachers. It recognizes the boarder roles a teacher undertakes as
it looks to guides these various roles while being mindful that not all classrooms and available
supports are equal and allows room for factors outside of the teachers control. The rights of the
students and guardians are acknowledged by the code with it being readily available and
understandable to all who seek to understand them, recognizing the benefits of positive relationship
with these stakeholders.
The ethical underpinning of the code revolves around creating a positive learning environment for
all in education. Educators are to be respectful, emphatic, and supportive of their students and
surroundings, never making a student feel alienated or unwelcome. Honesty, reliability and
upholding moral action creates a trustworthy environment. Establishing your integrity and care for
their wellbeing and studies.
The standards expected by registered teachers are laid out in the codes:
Professional values and relationships:
 Be emphatic and committed to creating the best learning environment for all students.
Treating each student equal and fairly while also recognizing that each student is unique and should
be treated as such. Create a mutual trust and respect through developing positive relationships with
all stakeholders in the school environment.
Professional integrity:
Be aware of their role within the school environment and avoid mixing private interests
that may reflect negatively. Being honest and upstanding to your word will create confidence and
trust in you. It’s important to maintain confidentiality with students to support this trust, only
broken for concern for the wellbeing of a student.
Professional conduct:
Within regulations uphold the safety and wellbeing of students and maintain the positive
reputation of teaching. Maintain a flow of professional and supportive communication through
appropriate channels, reporting anything that may negatively impact the wellbeing of a student.
Refrain from accessing or consuming any inappropriate or illicit material on school grounds.
Professional practice:
Grow as a professional, reflecting on experiences and allowing criticism to improve
personal abilities, maintaining ambitious standards in all professional responsibilities. Help
students develop holistically and create a positive environment that encourages learning inside and
outside the classroom. Communicate clear, achievable goals for students while respecting the
learner’s ability.
Professional development:
Keep up to date with regulations and legislations. Be reflective and evaluate their practice
regularly. Avail of professional development opportunities.
Professional collegiality and collaboration:
Communicate with staff, parents, and pupils to understand and meet the needs of students.
Cooperate with government and public bodies. Regularly evaluate the curriculum at school and
classroom levels with colleagues to maintain desirable learning environments.

Anyone can make a complaint against a registered teacher. The council attempts to resolve
complaints at a school level before escalating them to the review board. Only the most egregious
complaints will be settled by the council, but all will be reviewed.

Critical Reflection on the Article

With World Teacher Day having past on October the 5th, I saw many governments, publics bodies
even sports teams all post and celebrate teachers on their public platforms. Showing love and
respect and acknowledging the care and trust embodied in teachers around the world. Respect, Care
and Trust, three pillars of the standards of practice laid out in the Professional code of conduct.
These three words are echoed throughout the world’s codes, often in their standards or ethical
underpinnings. But, when I reflect on my own experiences and look at the news around me, I ask
myself, are we really respected? Yes and no.
Reviewing codes of conducts from countries around the world I feel can give a good understanding
of how the job of a teacher is perceived by its governing bodies. Some read very cold and almost
like a strict list of requirements required by teachers when carrying out their roles, such as the
Alberta code of professional conduct and the south Africa code of professional ethics. (Alberta
Teachers' Associatons, 2004) (South African Council for Education, 2000). The SACE codes are
over two thirds disciplinary procedures, they almost feel threating. Whereas codes like India’s’ and
New Zealand’s truly embody what it is to be a teacher, they show the trust and care given to each
teacher throughout. They layout thoughtful and sometimes slightly ambiguous guidelines that
teachers should try to follow in their many roles not just as an educator but also as a role model, a
carer, learners and the many more roles they sometimes fulfil in a student’s life. (National Council
of Educational Research and Training, 2011)I believe this is truly shown in the New Zealand’s
codes. It is built around commitment. Commitment to the students, commitment to self,
commitment to community and heritage. Commitment to the profession and all it requires. (Matatū
Aotearoa, 2017)
Reflecting on times I felt respected in the classroom, I think of when I worked in a previous school
handling the DCG teacher’s workload while she was on a leave of absence, particularly with the 6 th
years. Coming into the classroom was very daunting, still being preservice, it was a familiar
environment, but a challenging task laid ahead with no supporting teacher to lean on. My first real
taste of being a qualified teacher. From the offset, I was honest and open with them about their
situation and what they needed to do achieve in the class. I put together a plan and timed
breakdown of the runup to their exams. They saw this commitment and respect I was showing to
them, their studies, and from that point on I had earned their respect. Tomlinson (2011) speaks
further on the positive effects of giving respect in the classroom can have, also noting on the
negative effects when there is a lack. Earning this gave me a lot of benefits; the students applied
themselves more, they rarely missed class, even the ‘troublemakers’ were like different students
with their heads down and focused. Although the material being covered was the most challenging,
it was still my favourite class to teach. Gaining the students respect was the key to making the
situation work, this is echoed in Wellingtons’ (2009) conclusions stating “If you have students'
respect, they will try to pay attention both to please you and because they trust you; if you think
something is worth knowing, they are ready to believe you.”
When looking to the news to see if teachers are respected, I find people are regaining their respect
that they had started to lose. Before the pandemic many stories latched onto Harris polls that show
declining respect for teachers from teachers and student by nearly 40% (Toppo, 2014). Coming out
of the pandemic though has seen a lot of parents regain their respect for teachers and they are
beginning put their trust back in them. “Forty-five per cent of parents reported their understanding
of the demands of teachers and their respect for them increased.” (Stelmach, 2021) Gaining a small
peak of what teachers must go through first-hand, daily, during the pandemic allowed parents to
shrugged off some of mistrust that had been building and realize how hard getting one teenager to
focus on their work for 7 hours a day, let alone 26!
Feeling respected in your classroom and by society may come down to the individual experiences
of each person. I’ve had times of feeling great respect and of very little. I do feel respected by most
students and society. I feel it in the little things they do, the “thank you, sir” as they leave room, the
parents just attending parent/teacher meetings, even meeting older students and them remembering
you fondly. You don’t remember teachers that didn’t impact you. However, where I do not feel
respected is by the governing bodies and government spending. OECD report (2022) shows that
despite GDP increase spending on education has fallen. Ranking on teachers’ pay has fallen to just
above average, salary increases and spending on infrastructure are among the lowest, and hours
worked by teachers Ireland ranks among the highest. So, are we really respected? By society and
our students, I believe so but by our government and leaders, I don’t believe so. Unfortunately I
feel they fail to see the importance of supporting teachers and the importance of teachers bring, our
importance, I feel, best stated by the Indian code of conducts (2011) ethical underpinning “Teachers
Demonstrate, Inspire and Guide, through their own conduct, that learning is a character-building
and nation-building noble activity.”

List of References
References
Alberta Teachers' Associatons. (2004). Code of Professional Conduct. Alberta : The Alberta
Teachers' Associatons.
Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland. (2008). ASTIR. ASTIR, 26(5), 36.
Matatū Aotearoa. (2017). The Code of Professional Responsibility. Wellington: The
Education Council.
National Council of Educational Research and Training. (2011). Code of Professional
Ethics for Teachers . New Dheli: National Council of Educational Research and
Training.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2022). Education at a glance:
OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD publishing. doi:https://doi.org/10.1787/3197152b-
en
South African Council for Education. (2000). Code of Professional Ethics. Centurion:
South African Council for Education.
Stelmach, B. (2021, June 28). Parent-teacher relations were both strained and
strengthened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Retrieved from The Conversation:
https://theconversation.com/parent-teacher-relations-were-both-strained-and-
strengthened-by-the-covid-19-pandemic-163054
Tomlinson, C. A. (2011). One to grow on/ Respecting students. The Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Toppo, G. (2014, January 23). Respect at school in decline, survey shows. Retrieved from
USA today news: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/23/respect-
schools-teachers-parents-students/4789283/
Wellington, D. T. (2009). Why don't students like school? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.