Activity 11: Applied and Professional Ethics

Create a blog post where you highlight key points from the article on Applied and Professional Ethics by Collste (2012) ​and discuss what you find relevant or applicable to your profession.

Our individual interpretation of ethics is shaped by a range of different societal influences such as: school, work, religion, community, culture, the arts and sports. Our beliefs about ethics helps to shape our ideas about justice, morality and virtue.

Humans are social beings who engage in social interactions. We cannot avoid making judgements about what is right and wrong. Everything we do, every decision we make, has ethics at its core, which drive or motivate our actions and decisions. When we engage in ethics, we begin to reflect on our moral judgements and actions.

Applied Ethics

“ is the art or science of reflecting on moral dilemmas and moral problems in different social contexts" (Collste, 2012, p.18), but who decides what is wrong, and what is right?

An example of applied ethics is the current dilemma of digital technology and social media. Devices and apps store personal information about users. Does this impede on people’s rights to privacy? How do we find the balance between the need for information and the protection of individuals’ privacy? As more people use social media and their digital footprint increases, who has the right to access and use personal and private information?

Key areas of applied ethics include:

• justice
• human dignity
• acceptable ethical principles need to be constructed for people belonging to different moral traditions, religious backgrounds and who have different philosophies (Collste, 2012)
• Reflective equilibrium (a method of applied ethics)

Ethical inquiries in applied ethics rely on conceptual clarity and a careful assessment of arguments. They usually concern social practices and institutions. All relevant views pertaining to the issue need to be known and critically interpreted. Relevant factual information is also required in order to reach a justified moral judgement (Collste, 2012).

In an educational context, all parties points of views would be heard. Depending on the ethical inquiry, some of the agencies concerned could include the student, teacher, principal, family/ whanau, social worker, public health nurse, teacher aide… The list is is extensive, however in order to take a justified moral position, all the applicable views must be considered.

Figure 1: Ethics encompasses a range of ideas

Another key idea featured in Collste’s (2012) research is that under applied ethics, one way of coming to a decision is to “choose the action that, compared with other alternatives, will increase the amount of pleasure or decrease the amount of pain in the world.” This is known as the principle of utility, similar to the education sectors principle of responsible care.

A second way is to use a professional’s judgment - the expertise, knowledge, skills and professional experience to inform and make the decision. However, this can be controversial as different professionals may have differing opinions on what is morally right.

Reflective equilibrium is a method of applied ethics that aims to identify and relate different relevant aspects of a case. A discussion about the relevant facts and viewpoints specific needs to occur before a decision can be made. The different principles (established by a profession) need to be reflected on in order to achieve a decision. A decision will be justified if:

• all morally relevant aspects are considered
• all affected persons involved are listened to and their views taken into account.

In New Zealand’s teaching profession these principles include:

Figure 2: Balancing the key principles (Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand)

However, these principles do not exist in isolation, rather a balance is required in order to make an informed decision.

Professional Ethics

Professional ethics arise from moral reflection in work.They are based on the practice of a profession. The moral content of professional ethics comes from the moral norms and duties of the profession. These are based on the relations that professionals have with other people. Different types of professional relations generate different moral norms. These provide the basic moral framework of a profession.

So what are the relations and norms for New Zealand’s teaching profession?

• relations to people dependent on professional work and service (eg: teacher and students relations generate honesty, empathy, safety etc... )
• relations to workmates (eg: teachers and support staff, colleagues at other schools relations generate loyalty, trust and solidarity)
• relations to employers (eg: Board of Trustees, Ministry of Education relations generate loyalty and confidentiality)

Collste (2012) suggests that having a professional organisation, such as the Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (EDUCANZ), to consult is helpful. This professional organisation takes professional ethics seriously as evidence by the Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers. “Professional ethics develops within a community of professionals” (Collste, 2012, p.30). It is the result of moral thinking.

Collste (2012) states that the purpose of an ethical code is to:

1. help guide professionals facing difficult moral decisions
2. be a reference point for professionals who want to act in a morally correct manner
3. improve the professional ethical standard.

With that in mind, it is important for a profession to be working towards a common goal. The common goal of the New Zealand teaching profession is to ensure that:

“Teachers registered to practise in New Zealand are committed to the attainment of the highest standards of professional service in the promotion of learning by those they teach, mindful of the learner’s ability, cultural background, gender, age or stage of development.”

- Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers.

Collste (2012) also argues that a profession is a type of practice and that standards of excellence define a profession. Professionals aim to realise and acquire these standards, which in turn become an integrated part of a professional’s character. When these traits are acquired, they are professional virtues.

“Professional virtues are those virtues that are necessary to realising the standards and goods of a profession. The good or virtuous professional is the one who has the capacity and the desire to live up to the standards to make the right decision in the problematic moral situations. This capacity is acquired through reflective practice (Collste, 2012, p.31). In the education profession, teachers need to critically reflect and evaluate their teaching practice. They can do this in accordance with the Practising Teacher Criteria.

As new technologies develop and we implement them in our classrooms, the profession will continue to face new and difficult moral problems. Therefore, it is important that educators collaborate and have ongoing discussions about how to handle new ethical dilemmas. A common moral ground is needed, and thus the Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers is essential.

References:

Collste, G. (2012). Applied and Professional Ethics. Kemanusiann, 19(1), 17-33.

    Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (n.d) Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.educationcouncil.org.nz/content/registered-teacher-criteria-1#h4

    Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (n.d) Practising Teacher Criteria. Retrieved from http://www.educationcouncil.org.nz/content/registered-teacher-criteria-1#h4

European Commission. (n.d). Horizon 2020: The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/ethics