Teaching ethically

Author(s):

Marita Cronqvist(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 09 D,

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-10

11:00-12:30

Room:

325.Oktatóterem [C]

Chair:

Halvor Hoveid

Contribution

In teaching, there is always a moral dimension in meeting between pedagogue and child. This moral dimension is often implicit in teaching and therefore not so easy to visualize and discuss. Since the moral dimension influence all teaching and is crucial to teaching it need to be discussed, not least in teacher education.The study's aim is to examine and provide a better understanding of how student teachers express their ethical responsibilities and what these expressions say about professional ethics. The question is:

What do professional ethics mean to student teachers?

Professional ethics can be described on different levels and with different perspectives. According to Svensson (2011) professional ethics consist of three levels. The national level with different laws, the collegial level describing common principals and the personal level with the pedagogue´s own values. Different levels cannot really be separated but in this study, focus is on the personal ethics, expressed, or lived, in relationship between pedagogue and child.

Professional ethics is implied in practice, difficult to separate from other aspects of teaching and therefore difficult to view and discuss (Todd, 2001). This study is based on the conception that professional ethics is embedded in practice but does not need to be unspoken. It is crucial to teacher education to make professional ethics explicit, analyzed and criticized.

The pedagogue has a responsibility towards the children and this study is based on Levinas (1993) claim of responsibility as inevitable. The responsibility is always present in the meeting with children and must be handled by student teacher in one way or another. The meanings of professional ethics are studied through student teachers´ ways to experience, handle and develop this responsibility.

Challenges in teaching assignment consist of different ethical dilemmas. A dilemma does not have a right answer (Husu & Tirri, 2003) but depends on the judgment of the teacher in relation to the actual situation. Examples of challenges are conflicts between external frames and personal beliefs, disciplined children and democratic citizens and between public and personal values. This study is based on the understanding of dilemmas or conflicts as crucial to develop professional ethics (Colnerud, 1997).

Osguthorpe (2008) explains the difference between teaching ethics and teaching ethically. Teaching ethically means being a role model to children since your actions present different values. The teacher does not need to be virtuous. Campbell (2008) connects teaching ethically to the teacher as being virtuous. In this study, focus is on teaching ethically.

The lifeworld theory is used in this study. Intentionality and the natural attitude as parts of phenomenology and lifeworld theory are relevant. When student teachers make new experiences through teacher education, new understanding is built on the student teacher´s lifeworld. The lifeworld is the way that the student teacher relates to and interacts with the world. Intentionality is one´s directed awareness of objects or events (Husserl, 1995), meaning that when student teachers experience something, they experience it as something. A person´s lifeworld is the sum of all meanings and this lifeworld is impossible to escape but possible to reflect on (Husserl, 1995). The natural attitude, to take things for granted in order to cope with daily situations (Husserl, 1970), explains why ethics in teaching situations often remains unspoken. When something is natural and unquestioned, the experiences are implicit. When a student teacher meets children, the meeting is between different lifeworlds and the situation depends on what experiences both the children and the student teacher bring with them. Through reflection and self-awareness, objects and events experienced as natural attitude can become conscious and possible to study (Dahlberg, Dahlberg & Nyström, 2008).

Method

Reflective Lifeworld Research (RLR), based on phenomenological epistemology (Dahlberg et al., 2008) is the methodology used in this study. The purpose of Reflective Lifeworld Research is usually to get at the essence of a particular phenomenon, in this case professional ethics, thus gaining knowledge about the constituents of the meaning of that phenomenon (Dahlberg, 2006). The phenomenon in this study is expressed as student teachers´ experiences of morals and ethics in their meeting with children in preschool or school. Findings are based on interviews with ten student teachers with different orientation: Nina, Eva and Ida were training for pre-school; Johan and Lena were specializing in Elementary school years 1-3; Maria, Anna and Stina were studying for Elementary school years 4-6; and Lisa and Emma were preparing to teach special subjects in Elementary school, years 7-9. All students were in their second semester (1st year) when I interviewed them. The interviews were conducted as soon as possible after the student teachers´ school-based training and usually in one of the University´s facilities. In RLR, it is important that the analysis leading to the findings is transparent and deliberative (Dahlberg et al., 2008). This means that finding the essence must be preceded by a process where I try to hold back my pre-understandings and take the time to reflect on what has emerged from the respondents (Dahlberg et al., 2008). The bridling in this study is done by discussing the findings with colleagues and supervisor, by doing the analysis over a long period of time, and by analyzing in different stages. These stages entailed that I started looking for different meaning units in the data and marked them by comments in the margins of transcriptions. Out of my comments, I searched for meanings that seemed to belong to each other and structured patterns (clusters). In this process different parts of the data are constantly compared to the whole and the whole to the parts, iteratively, to see if the patterns remained convincing (Dahlberg et al., 2008). The different stages of analyzing makes it possible to go back in process and to check what was said and if it can be interpreted differently. I worked with the essence for a long period, discussed it with others and constantly tried different ways of viewing it in order “to keep its indefiniteness as long as possible” (Dahlberg & Dahlberg, 2003, p 48).

Expected Outcomes

The phenomenon and the essential meaning of professional ethics are constituted by the following meaning elements:  Relationship and learning are interwoven Professional ethics means that relationships to children and their learning are interwoven in that knowledge, feelings and attitudes cannot be separated. Through dialogue and discussion, different opinions and perspectives are articulated. An understanding of each other´s differences and a learning of different views and what consequences these views can have emerges. Good relationships and safety make it possible to ask questions and to make mistakes, which stimulate learning. Not only through discussion, but also through facts, attitudes to other people can be improved.  Experiences should be for a child´s best interests Professional ethics means to prioritize responsibility for the child before one´s own personal feelings and needs.  Inclusion of each child Professional ethics means a responsibility to include each child and to support everyone to participate. Each child must be invited to participate in learning no matter what difficulties this may entail. They should be able to express opinions, be involved in and control what happens during an activity or a lesson, and have a say about different rules.  Authority through an atmosphere of joy, respect and safety Professional ethics means a responsibility to establish an authority in the children´s group. The authority is created through an atmosphere of joy, respect and safety.  Ambiguity requires an approach to responsibility Professional ethics means to, despite ambiguous and complex situations, make choices, act on them and take responsibility for the consequences.  External factors can be obstacles Sometimes external factors prevent or complicate decisions, and thereby become obstacles to professional ethics.  Development when theory and practice meet in reflection Professional ethics means that when theory and practice are brought together through reflection, it develops.

References

References Campbell, E. (2008). Teaching Ethically as a Moral Condition of Professionalism. In: Nucci, L. P. & Narváez, D. (Ed.) (2008). Handbook of moral and character education (s. 601-617). New York: Routledge. Colnerud, G.(1997). Ethical conflicts in teaching, Teaching and Teacher Education, 13(6), 627-635. Dahlberg, H. & Dahlberg, K. (2003). To not make definite what is indefinite: A phenomenological analysis of perception and its epistemological consequences in human science research. The Humanistic Psychologist, 31(4), 34-50. Dahlberg, K. (2006). The essence of essences – the search for meaning structures in phenomenological analysis of lifeworld phenomenon. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, (1), 11-19. Dahlberg, K., Dahlberg, H. & Nyström, M. (2008). Reflective lifeworld research. 2. ed. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Husserl, E. (1970). The crisis of European sciences and transcendental phenomenology: an introduction to phenomenological philosophy. Evanston: Northwestern U.P. Husserl, E. (1995). Fenomenologins idé. 2. uppl. Göteborg: Daidalos. Husu, J. & Tirri, K. (2003). A case study approach to study one teacher´s moral reflection. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19(3), 345-357. Lévinas, E. (1993). Etik och oändlighet: samtal med Philippe Nemo. 3., utök. uppl. Stockholm: B. Östlings bokförl. Symposion. Osguthorpe, R. D. (2008). On the Reasons We Want Teachers of Good Disposition and Moral Character. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(4), 288-299 Svensson, L. G. (2011). Profession, organisation, kollegialitet och ansvar. Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift, nr 4, 301-319. Todd, S. (2001). ‘Bringing more than I contain’: curriculum and the pedagogical demand for altered egos, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 33(4), 431-450.

Author Information

Marita Cronqvist (presenting / submitting)

University of Borås

Borås

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