Ethical issues in the teaching profession

Teacher is a noble profession. It is a person with unwavering principles and broad horizons. They are knowledgeable in their field. Their mind is systematic, carefully planning actions based on scientific knowledge, yet sincere and spontaneous in their instincts. They have a rich personality and, through their entire life, set an example for behavior and upbringing.

A teacher's task is to teach effectively without causing stress, to demand without overburdening, to maintain discipline without resorting to coercion, to be fair while finding something good in everyone, to help the weaker students without neglecting the talented ones. They also need to care about the school and extracurricular fate of each student and collaborate with the teaching staff.

Teaching has two aspects: substantive and ethical. The primary duty of a teacher is to support students in comprehensive development. To fulfill this task, teachers should choose appropriate teaching programs, textbooks, and didactic tools. Teachers are not only responsible for transmitting knowledge and values to students but also for organizing multifaceted activities and preparing the young for encounters with people and the future, with its problems and challenges, which are immense in the 21st century.

In a teacher's work, the well-being of the child, responsibility for their development, and preparation for decision-making should be the most important values. The following set of principles and guidelines is meant to define the tasks and responsibilities of each employee: Employees in the field of education are bound by the principles of universal ethics, especially the principles of good conduct in education. Universal ethics applies to an employee in education, just like any other person, but their responsibility is greater due to a higher level of awareness and because employees in education are assigned a high rank in the social hierarchy and are perceived as authorities in social life. The employee in education is primarily bound by the norms of honesty and disinterestedness. The principles of ethics and good conduct apply to the employee in education in all their behaviors, not just within the scope of professional activity. If legal or professional regulations were to violate the ethos of people in education, the employee in education should strive to change such regulations and align them with the canons of good conduct in education. An employee in education cannot demand from their colleagues or subordinates behavior inconsistent with the principles of good conduct in education. An employee in education cannot justify their behavior inconsistent with the principles of good conduct in education by obedience or loyalty. In a situation where the application of the principles of good conduct in education comes into conflict with other generally accepted value systems, the employee in education should make a choice according to their conscience and make a personal decision in each specific case of moral conflict. An employee in education recognizes education as an important element of culture and defends it against unjustified accusations. An employee in education should oppose the improper use of scientific achievements and their use against humanity. An employee in education should continuously expand and deepen their knowledge and improve their skills. An employee in education is obliged to a critical attitude. In their professional activity, an employee in education respects the views of scientific authorities but values factual arguments above authorities. An employee in education adjusts the decisiveness of their statements to the degree of their justification. An employee in education should be willing to question, review, and reject theories, even those that are their own achievements, if they do not withstand rational criticism or confrontation with facts. An employee in education should defend the freedom of education. The freedom of education comes down to the freedom to choose a topic, the freedom to choose a method of solution, and, above all, the freedom of thought and speech. An employee in education agrees to limit freedom of speech and the choice of topics if these limitations are necessary in light of superior reasons (such as state secrets) and are made by competent scientific bodies. An employee in education should oppose the imposition of declarations of loyalty to political authorities or other non-scientific institutions, as this compromises the principle of academic freedom and should meet with the protest of scientific communities. An employee in education condemns the use of non-scientific criteria in science, but is reserved, not condemning, towards issues that are not yet science. An employee in education should be characterized by impartiality and opposition to all forms of discrimination in the scientific world. Assessing scientific achievements based on personal, national, racial, or ideological criteria is unworthy of an employee in education. An employee in education does not act maliciously to the detriment of the professional reputation of another colleague. However, if they have evidence or reasonable suspicions of behavior contrary to the law or good conduct in the field of science, especially false or unreliable research results, they should not hide it. An employee in education does not make the quality of their work dependent on remuneration, but has the right to demand fair remuneration for their work. Employees in education have a special obligation to spread the principles of scientific work in their environments personally and through scientific institutions and organizations, to condemn scientific dishonesty or the violation of good conduct.

According to the authors of the code of ethics for teachers, it is meant to inspire teachers and encourage them to care and pay special attention to the moral aspect of their behavior. It is supposed to strengthen their sense of responsibility for the profession they have chosen, sensitize their consciences, while simultaneously warning against making pedagogical mistakes.

Choosing the profession of a teacher is a moral decision. It should be free, conscious, rational, and responsible, and oriented towards the realization of ethical values. The moral choice of the teaching profession is a choice of autotelic values. Its implementation becomes from that moment an ethical duty of the educator, without ceasing to be their moral duty. Similarly, the realization of other goods of the teaching profession, resulting from a free and conscious moral decision, is both a duty and an obligation.

The autotelic value of the teaching profession is the education of a wise person. It has the status of a moral good. A very important characteristic of a wise person is the pursuit of ethical knowledge. However, a wise person must also have an appropriate amount of empirical knowledge necessary for making morally correct decisions. According to the creators of the code, a teacher should be a model of a righteous and noble personality, sensitive and responsible. They should have high personal culture, especially in the Polish language. They should also be characterized by openness to another person, which is the foundation of dialogue. Therefore, being a person of dialogue, a teacher should relate to the student and their parents with full respect. Taking on the challenge in their work, a teacher should prioritize the well-being of the student as their highest goal.

The nature of the teacher's professional work makes the problem of ethics in this profession particularly important. The specificity of the teaching profession is defined by the character of the work, coexistence within its framework, the sense of social role, tasks, and values. Its level is essential for the student, for the parents of the student, or finally for the entire process of education and upbringing. In the educational activity of the school, assumptions and moral values are taken into account.