Week 28 Discuss issues of Ethics

Week 28
Activity 4

What:
During the survey data collection we were very aware of the importance to keep parents identity anonymous, so that if anyone was to know any names it would remain with the 3 inquiring teachers. However, during the analysing stage some parents made negative comments about certain teachers within our school. This brought up the ethical dilemma of do we share this information with the school principal or do we just let it go?


So what:
So we discussed this as a team and decided that our first priority was to ensure that the identity of our parents and students was kept private as we had stated and made that very clear in the beginning that it would be. We also felt that it was our duty to inform the Principal of the comments that arose, because she needs to be fully advised of any matter that could arise in the future and she is very proactive in ensuring the well being of our tamariki and whanau members as well as her staff. By doing this, it took it out of our hands and she dealt with the matter informally.
So looking at the ethical framework it touched on our professional ethics, which then took us to the individuals values, beliefs and attributes making us choose to act and inform our school principal about what came up, (no parents or students were named in this process). Luckily, there were no serious implications that came from this issue. However, if not dealt with correctly it could have lead to teachers finding out parent identities and treating children differently and if parents found out that they were named during this process, they would have less trust and respect for the school and not participate in future data collections. This would also damage parent-school relationships.


Now what:
I feel that the choice we made was the best option for all parties involved. We maintained the confidentiality of both the teacher and parents. When we looked at the Our Code Our Standards document we realised that our ethical issue aligned with number 3 - Commitment to families and whanau. We respect and value the role that our parents play in their child’s learning and so we need to engage with parents in a professional and respectful manner.  
In the future we will ensure that any surveys that go home clearly state that, this document is not for negative comments and that if you have any concerns please make contact with the principal.

L.C. Ehrich et al. says that it is not always  easy way to make decisions around ethic issues. But we found by using the framework they have put together and looking at the teacher code of standards and personal beliefs you will make the right decision at the time.

Ehrich, L. C. , Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794

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