The Influence of Law and ethics - Communicating with Students and their Whanau

The New Zealand Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers requires teachers to demonstrate a high level of social and ethical awareness in all professional conduct.  Not only does our daily teaching practice reflect within this, but also our private lives and the way in which we conduct ourselves outside of school. Four fundamental principles - autonomy, justice, responsible care and truth guide these ethical principles by which we, as professionals must abide.

One ethical issue that as a teacher, Curriculum Leader and Dean in charge of Pastoral Care for Year 9 & 10 students I face on an almost daily basis is the way in which I communicate with students and their whanau in relation to their learning or other needs. In a previous lifetime, this would occur via letter or the good old landline or face to face meeting. However, in this day and age of technological advancement and time pressure, emails, texting, instant messaging and other forms of communication occur and with this, a whole new range of potential problems can arise. Communications can quickly escalate, especially in digital form as the message can often be misunderstood or misread. I can think of many times that I have received a personal and sometimes professional text or email and have misread the tone of this, which has led to tension and misunderstanding. It is crucial that we do not have these misunderstandings when communicating with students and their families as we aim to build, not break relationships.

So how can communicating with students and their families be an ethical issue, when it is at the forefront of our job? One reason it can become an issue is that it is quite easy for the lines to become blurred between professional and personal. Too often, we are seeing in the media (Example 1, Example 2) cases where the lines have become blurred for the individuals involved, and teachers have lost sight of their ethical responsibilities and values. Often this poor conduct has involved inappropriate use of social media, texting and emailing to communicate with students and the relationship is no longer that of a teacher/student. As a result, the consequences can be wide ranging. Not only can a person’s individual reputation be destroyed with legal consequences (being censured, struck off the teaching register or fired to name a few), but the reputation of the school can also come in to question. The long term impacts on the students and their families can be life long and in some cases, students have taken their lives as a result. If as teachers, we choose to ignore the potential risks that come with using technology to communicate with students and their families then we have to be prepared for the potential fallout for all involved.

The Code of Ethics highlights that as teachers, we must demonstrate a commitment to learners, their parents/guardians and family/whanau. For myself, this is highlighted when they state that teachers will strive to:

• develop and maintain professional relationships with learners based upon the best interests of those learners
• establish open, honest and respectful relationships with caregivers and whanau and;
• teach and model those positive values which are widely accepted in society and encourage learners to apply them and critically appreciate their significance.

From this, I believe the following aspects should  be considered when communicating with students and family/whanau in order to ensure that our communications are appropriate:

• Why does the communication need to occur? The purpose for any communication should be clear and open
• Who has initiated the communication?
• What is the best method of communication, in order to convey the required information?
• When should this communication happen? With the ability to connect 24/7, it is important that teachers set boundaries around when they will engage with students and parents online or via text messaging.

I also take care to ensure that any email communication with parents and students is done via my school email and that I store any communication should my conduct ever be questioned. While I do use my personal mobile phone to make calls and send texts to parents, I also ensure that I keep a record of these communications and document them on our student manangement system. I also use our SMS to send bulk emails or text messages to students and parents, so that it is all chanelled via the school. By doing this, I am removing the potential for personal communication tools to be misconstrued.

As with anything, there is not always a right or wrong answer. We can be guided by those around us to do what is best and can support others to do the same. Using tools such as the questions posed by Hall (2001) and the Connecticut Teacher Education and Mentoring Program (2012) can help us to critically analyse a scenario we may find ourselves in and work through the steps to best manage these.

References

Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual.pdf

Education Council. (n.d). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certficated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers