Home Teaching Philosophy A5 Reflection & Evaluation A6 Legality & Ethics D2 Cooperative Learning D3 Relationship Building Lesson Plans Student Work Samples Behaviour Management Professional Learning Plan International Experience Information Technology Contact

Know, understand and adhere to legal and ethical obligations and be aware of the nature of professional behaviour.

Before undergoing any practicum pre-service teachers are required to read and accept the terms of a confidentiality and conduct statement (see appendix below). However it is important to also recognise important ethical guidelines such as those of the Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania who require teachers to uphold the principles of dignity, respect, integrity empathy and justice (see appendix below). An awareness of these documents is insufficient for pre-service teachers and I actively sought professional discussion on the topics of ethical and legal responsibilities with colleague teachers whilst on practicum (see appendix below).
A teacher’s legal and ethical obligations are not restraint based and there are numerous instances when a teacher is compelled to act due to their duty of care. My experience on PE3 involved becoming aware of a student that was potentially ‘at risk’ and as such I considered this students situation and made myself aware of the relevant legal requirements of ‘at risk’ students and mandatory reporting (see appendices below).

View Confidentiality & Conduct Statement

View TRB Code of Professional Ethics

View 'What is meant by risk' Document

View Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Document

This allowed me to have subsequent professional discussions with my colleague teacher about this specific situation and the legal and ethical obligations of teachers. Following these discussions I became aware that this students and their living arrangements were being discussed with the student, a legal guardian, the assistant principal and the school counsellor. As a pre-service teacher I had not gained the requisite information about the students situation nor the trust of the student that is crucial to discussion of such sensitive matters. I felt comfortable that despite my concern, the issue was being dealt with in a legally and ethically appropriate manner and did not pursue mandatory reporting of this situation.

During my placement on PE3 I actively developed professional relationships throughout the school (see appendix below). I took the opportunity to learn from those around me to better equip myself as an educator in the school community. Groundwater-Smith, Brennan, McFadden and Mitchell suggest offer that “it is not quite enough to be ‘a good person’ to be a good teacher. Rather the scope of our ethics has to be more than just personal, encompassing something of the collegiality of working with others” (2001, p281). I believe that teachers must develop positive and workable relationships within their school communities to best perform their legal and ethical duties.