Practice 2 Essay 4: Discuss how ethical issues are being addressed while you are taking action
As a New Zealand teacher, my practice and the choices
I make when working with students, is underpinned by
the Education Council ( 2017) and their guiding document,
Our Code, Our Standards. Pono is one of Our Code
values and states that teachers should demonstrate
integrity by “acting in a way that is fair,honest, ethical
and just” (p.4). This was a conscious consideration
I undertook in my action research.
For my research, I had chosen my team leader’s class,
since I cover her classroom release regularly every week.
After explaining the purpose of the research the previous
week , which aligned with the New Zealand Association
For Research in Education (2010) guideline 3.2 informed
consent which states “Before participants make a
decision about their involvement in a project, they
need to be given a clear description of why the research
is being undertaken, what it involves (p.6) I proceeded
to commence my lesson. I called upon all 6 student
participants but as they approached, one student
appeared visibly distressed. And, in that moment, I was
faced with what Elrich, Kimber, Millwater & Cranston, (2011)
identify in their model of ethical decision making as a “critical incident”
which they state, “ triggers the ethical dilemma” (p.178-179).
Their model below also shows the forces and individual beliefs
and values at play when faced with an ethical dilemma.
As part of my action research, I had considered ethical
situations that may have occurred. The image below,
from my action plan, identifies, in the first right-hand column,
the potential for a student(s) to become distressed.
When deciding on a course of action, for the best
possible outcome I had to find out what had caused
the distress. After calming down, she expressed
that she had to finish her house captain slides for
the school assembly but thought she was going to
let me down and miss out on the paper circuitry lesson.
The action I took was to remove her from the research,
so that she could commit to her House captain work.
This dilemma has made me realize that teachers need
to have a certain level of self-awareness and perspective
to work in an ethical manner and be open to the
various complex views in order to find the best possible
outcome. Hall, ( 2001) suggests that teachers need to be
able to “ recognise ethical problems when they occur
and be capable of recognising what is at risk” (p.3). If I
had told her not to complete her assembly slides, this
would have had a negative impact on her emotional well
being, her role as a house captain, the running of the school
assembly. The decision I made also aligns with
the New Zealand Association for Research in Education
Guidelines (2010) principle 3.5 “If adverse effects are
encountered during the course of a research exercise,
it should normally be terminated as soon as it is practicable
in order to avoid further harm” (p.6).
Reflecting on this in the future, when undertaking
action research, I would find out about students' current
commitments and plan and schedule any further research
around their commitments to avoid clashes in the timetable.
I also think that using some lean and agile leadership
strategies could help action research in school settings
especially in creating a timeline of actions.
All in all, reflecting on my actions and the ethical literature
that I have read, it has helped me to have a greater awareness
of the forces and implications that can arise from
conducting action research in an educational setting.
References
Education Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards. Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf
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
Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. In IIPE Conference, Brisbane.
New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE). (2010). NZARE Ethical Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.nzare.org.nz/portals/306/images/Files/NZARE%20EthicalGuidelines2010.pdf
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