Ethical issues are part of everyday life

in schools. They frequently arise from

decisions which require value
judgments about doing the right thing,
or saying the good or best thing in a
particular situation.
 It is important to remember that
schools now are subject to the impact
of global changes to which their
stakeholders require rapid local
responses.
 School are subject to a lot of changes
today and with schools becoming
increasingly self-managing environments,
the principal/administrator has started to
feel more pressure on his/her shoulders
when dealing with ethically complex
situations.
 Ethics and Values together lay
the foundation for sustainability.
While they are sometimes used
synonymously, they are different,
where ethics are the set of rules
that governs the behavior of a
person, established by a group or
culture. Values refer to the beliefs
for which a person has an enduring
preference.
 By the term ‘ethics’ we mean a branch of moral
philosophy – a sense of rightness or wrongness of
actions, motives and the results of these actions.

In short, it is a discipline that identifies good

or evil, just or unjust, fair or unfair practices, about
moral duty. It is well-based standards that a person
should do, concerning rights, obligations, fairness,
benefits to society and so on. The standard puts a
reasonable obligation to stop crime like stealing,
assault, rape, murder, fraud and so on.
 Ethics is knowing the difference
between what you have a right to
do and what is right to do.
Potter Stewart
What is Values?
 Values refer to the important and
enduring beliefs or principles, based on
which an individual makes judgments in life.
It is at the center of our lives which act as
a standard of behavior. They severely
affect the emotional state of mind of an
individual. They can be personal values,
cultural values or corporate values.
 Values are forces that cause an individual
to behave in a particular manner. It sets our
priorities in life, i.e. what we consider in the
first place. It is a reason behind the choices
we make. It reflects what is more important
for us. So, if we are true to our values and
make our choices accordingly, then the way we
live to express our core values. Moreover, if
you understand an individual’s values, you can
easily identify what is important for them.
 BASIS FOR
COMPARISON
ETHICS VALUES
Meaning Ethics refers to the guidelines Value is defined as the principles
for conduct, that address and ideals, that helps them in
question about morality. making judgement of what is
more important.
What are they? System of moral principles. Stimuli for thinking.
Consistency Uniform Differs from person to person
Tells What is morally correct or What we want to do or achieve.
incorrect, in the given situation.
Determines Extent of rightness or Level of importance.
wrongness of our options.
What it does? Constrains Motivates
 1.Ethics refers to the guidelines for
conduct, that address question about
morality. Values is defined as the
principles and ideals, which helps them
in making the judgment of what is
more important.
 2.Ethics is a system of moral
principles. In contrast to
values, which is the stimuli of
our thinking.
 3.Values strongly influence the
emotional state of mind. Therefore it
acts as a motivator. On the other hand,
ethics compels to follow a particular
course of action.
4.Ethics are consistent, whereas values
are different for different persons, i.e.
what is important for one person, may
not be important for another person.
 5.Values tell us what we want to do or
achieve in our life, whereas ethics helps
us in deciding what is morally correct
or incorrect, in the given situation.
6.Ethics determines, to what extent our
options are right or wrong. As opposed
to values, which defines our priorities
for life.
 Teaching may be regarded as a profession in its
own right, and one that demands a great deal of
professional expertise. But it also requires its
own code of ethics, which may be expressed in
a set of ethical principles. These constitute a
code of ”quality control” for the profession and
those who practice it, a response to the trust
shown by society at large.
 The profession then demands that the
representatives selected to perform these tasks
should demonstrate high ethical standards in all
situations, even though the tasks may
frequently be difficult to define precisely or call
for rapid decisions. lt is essential for society to
be able to rely on persons of this kind to
exercise a high level of professional skill.
• Good ethical principles cannot compensate
for poor professional skills, and good
professional skills cannot make up for a lack
of ethical principles.

• Any consideration of the ethics of the

teaching profession calls for a distinction to
be made between legal and ethical matters.
• The results of a teacher's work are often
visible only after a considerable time lag, in
that good Iearning experiences tend to
promote lifelong learning. Teachers can play a
significant role in both the generation of
positive Iearning experiences and the
reinforcement of learners' self-esteem.
• The change in the role of teachers has
brought them closer to the learners, but it
has also increased their responsibility for
the learners' development and has
frequently led them into closer
cooperation with others who are also
responsible for this development.
 • Teachers have a great deal of power and
responsibility in matters concerned with the
evaluation of learners, for instance, and it is only
by fully internalizing the ethical principles
involved that they can avoid abusing their
position in this respect.
• A high standard of professional ethics is one of
the most important resources available to
teachers, guiding their work and their interactive
relations at the professional level.

• ln this sense the purpose of the present account

of a teacher's professional ethics is to codify and
promote the sense of what is ethically right that
has always been a part of educational work.
 Ethics in education has been given a lot of
importance over the years and institutions
are designing courses that help students
understand these ethics. Ethics in education
are applicable on both the instructors as
well as the students.
 Teachers play a very important role in a
student's life. They not only impart
education but also help develop the
personality of a student. As the instructor
often plays the role of a mentor and
influences an individual's development it's
essential that they follow certain ethics.
 Remember:
• Ethics in education that are applicable on
teachers require them to show patience to
every student despite their learning abilities.

• It’s important that an instructor understands

that every student is different and shouldn't
be evaluated on the same basis.
 Remember:
• Ethics in education doesn't allow teachers to
hold grudges and to intentionally treat
students unfairly.

• At the same time ethics in education requires

a student to respect the instructor and abide
by the rules set by them.
There are an infinite
number of ethical
topics that lend
themselves to the
practice of education
or the system itself.
 • How much should teachers help students?
Meeting the needs of students promotes better
learning. Teachers work hard to make themselves
available to their students. Does this pose a
potential problem for teachers? However, requests
for special treatment has become an ethical
dilemma some teachers feel they face when faced
with repeated requests for help from certain
students.
 ▪ Should teachers and students be friends?
Teachers are better able to structure their content
and presentation methods when they have an
understanding of their individual students and the
way they live. For some teachers, this means being
available to them as often as possible and sharing
experiences. Moments that diminish the perception
gap where students see teachers as out of touch
with their world, promotes friendship.
 Befriending students is not a problem. But where
does friendship end and how does a teacher make
sure he/she does not become friendlier with some
students than others? Preferences are inevitable and
can influence classroom behavior on the part of
both teacher and student.
 ▪ Right to Education: Does it really pertain to
everyone, equally?
Historically, formal education was reserved for the
privileged. Today it is universally recognized as a
basic human right. But there are still some cases
wherein children are prohibited with their right to
education. There are still so many who still doesn’t
have schooling especially in third world country.
 ▪ Awareness

We all need to be reminded from time to time to

step back and think about our decisions. As parents
and educators, we all have ethical behaviors that
society expects from us. It is up to us to uphold
them. As I say to my students, the sign of a truly
ethical person is one who does the right thing, in
whatever capacity, even when no one is looking.
While ethics are consistently applied over
the period, and remains same for all the
human beings. Values have an
individualistic approach, i.e. it varies from
person to person but remains stable,
relatively unchanging, but they can be
changed over time due to a significant
emotional event
 Ethics and ethical behavior are no less
prevalent or important in education. Where
there is good will, there is always someone
trying to take advantage. Ethics and ethical
behavior belongs to everyone. And until
everyone realizes that their choices impact
everyone, a truly fair and just educational
system will remain elusive.